Hashtag theme: #Patience
When you visit the Martin Luther
King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, you are confronted by the stalwart image
of Dr. King standing as immovable as the mountain and as certain as the granite
from which he was formed. The National Park Service describes “the striking
likeness of Dr. King captured… in a moment of reflective thought, determined
and resolute.” The name of that statue borrows from his own words “With this
faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”
Few people in our modern day so aptly embody James’ direction, “Brothers and
sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of
patient resolve and steadfastness.”
We are mercurial people, flowing
this way and that on our own fancies and whims. Today’s news points us to the
cause of the week, only to be forgotten when the next crisis flares up. My
Facebook feed is amazing clear of safety pins, bleu, blanc, rouge, or rainbow
filters. We are eager to express outrage, and reluctant to patiently wait for
resolution or to work diligently for justice.
We need to find the solid ground
where we can plant our feet, look the forces that rule this world in the eye
with resolve, and say, “No more.” We do so not as social justice warriors, or
cause celebre activists, but as faithful Christians looking for the coming of
Christ. So examine again the prophets who spoke the name of the Lord. Ancient
prophets, like Micah and Isaiah, with strong words of justice and mercy. Modern
prophets like Desmond Tutu and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who call us to work against
tyranny and for freedom for all God’s children. And like them, and Rev. Dr.
King, we too can stand on the solid rock of Christ, and with patient resolve
and steadfastness, anticipate and embody his Kingdom come.
Prayer:
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who
hast brought us thus far on the way; thou who hast by thy might led us into the
light, keep us forever in the path we pray. Lest our feet stray from the
places, our God, where we met thee; lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the
world, we forget thee; shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand, true to
our God, true to our native land. (Lift
Every Voice and Sing, stanza 3, James Weldon Johnson, 1921)
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