Today we celebrate the birth of our nation. But this year, it comes heavy with complications. 244 years ago, a parchment was signed under conditions of unrest. Now, today, we are in a state of unrest again. America is suffering birthing pains. The ALM: the contractions. The BLM: the Pushing mother. We have hope for a healthy baby that will bring more love into this world than we did. On July 9th 1776, George Washington and his troops, along with hundreds of citizens, crowded into what is now City Hall Park to hear a reading of the document that had just arrived from Philadelphia. The enthusiastic throng then headed for Broadway and the two-ton equestrian statue of King George III on Bowling Green. Time is cyclical. History repeats itself. This is why the prophets can repurpose imagery from other prophets for new situations. Let us celebrate like it’s 1776. At the same time the statue came down, the revolutionaries were also burning the British Coat of Arms. This is our confederate flag. The British coat of arms in New York’s courthouse was destroyed, a stone pediment with the same image was smashed, and the king’s portrait in the council chamber was “thrown out, broken, torn to pieces, and burnt, of all which the people testified their approbation by repeated huzzas.” Churches were not exempt. A naval ensign wrote that clergy were given “the honor of taking down” the royal coat of arms. If they refused, “the people are allowed to proceed in the like manner.” The cry of the people when the Declaration of Independence was read in Boston on July 18 was, “God save our American States!” Yahweh do it again! During these apocalypses our nation has been exposed. May the Spirit continue to lead this nation against injustice, against inequality, and against hate. America will not be the same post-BLM and post-pandemic. We will not be returning to the old normal. Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. Yahweh end racism and send revival to America.
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When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I don't know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground." I plead the blood of Jesus over my sins and the sins of my nation. Lord, end racism and send revival to America. Blood has been spilled on our soill. And we — all of us — are responsible. We are our brother’s keepers. So what will we do about it? 1,990 years ago blood was spilled so that everyone could be part of the kingdom of heaven. In this already-but-not-yet kingdom, there is no gender, there is no slave, nor is there free, and there is no race. For now, there is still race. And for us to truly live kingdom lives, we must make recompense for those who have been marginalized. Woe to you who protested the masks and social distancing, and are now saying to listen to our government and stop protesting; hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you don't get to enter neither do you allow others to enter. If you are not concerned for the state for our nation, and the state of the African-American community I question your salvation. "We call for an immediate end to the violence and for calm, but we must heed another call — our calling to responsible action. As children of God, Orthodox Christians and Americans, we cannot allow dehumanizing acts and the insidious plague of racism to continue in our country, dividing us from one another and separating us from God. In words that are just as true today, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. concluded, “[c]ertain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard… And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again.""¹ Love must be genuine. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Love each other with sibling affection. Outdo each other in showing honor. Do not lag in diligence, be excited in spirit, serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction contribute to the needs of saints, and pursue hospitality. Bless those who attack you -- bless, not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. do not be prideful, but associate with the lowly. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities applies to governments who "are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad." Rather, you owe no one anything other than love. For to love is to fulfill the law. "Love does nothing wrong to your neighbor therefore love fulfills the law." Who is our neighbor but anyone who is in need? "We applaud the spirit of protest that has emerged around the world as a result of that heinous act, while lamenting the violence that has also broken out in pockets of that otherwise peaceful and necessary protest. Black Lives Matter."² In the grand scheme of creation, all lives matter. But right now, at this moment, Yahweh is highlighting a specific group of people who need his love. Our god is not a god of rich white men. He has always favored the weak, the oppressed, the lower class; blessed are they. Yahweh has 99 white sheep in their pen protesting masks and social distancing, but the black sheep is outside the fencing -- is it not loving for him to worry more about that one until it's safe? Blood is being spilled on our land by our own government. "Black Lives Matter. The Bible matters. We protest the actions by the president of the United States, who, on the evening of 1 June 2020, called for military action against US residents on US soil, had peaceful protesters tear-gassed out of his way, stood uninvited before an Episcopal parish, and waved a Bible. We call out the president for abusing what is for many a treasured spiritual resource and symbol, and we deplore his violation of sacred space. We call out political leaders to engage the Bible in thoughtful and responsible ways. The Bible should not be brandished as a weapon to attack humanity or to violate the dignity of the human spirit."² I plead the blood of Jesus over my sins and the sins of my nation. Lord, end racism and send revival to America. ¹ The Metropolis of Chicago ² SBL |