January 22,
2017 – 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) & Martin Luther
King, Jr Observance (Feast of a Martyr)
Daniel
3:3-18 (abbrev)
Psalm 95
MLK –
“breaking the silence” excerpt
Luke 6:35
“If today you hear God’s voice, harden not
your heart.” This last week has been a difficult one for many of us. As I
started my first week here and experienced the events of the past week –
Obama’s farewell, the inauguration, the service of prophetic endurance, the
women’s march – and as I sat with the readings for today, I kept coming back to
this psalm. If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.
The UCC – the United Church of Christ – has a
branding campaign that reads “God is still speaking.” Something I know and
believe to be true. And the Poles have a saying – “Jak trwoga to do Boga” – in
hardship, we turn to God – often because we fear god has gone silent and
allowed suffering to happen. However, suffering does not mean God is silent. God
is indeed still speaking all around us. I am struck by how it is that God speaks to us. Where do we hear God’s
voice in today’s world? In this time of despair, of transition, we may be
tempted to retreat, to pull back into ourselves, we may struggle to see the
work of God, to hear the voice of God, in the world around us. But God is with
us always and we are reminded to not be afraid, to not give in to despair. We
are not alone in this world, though the troubles may seem overwhelming. God is
with us. Just as God was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – giving them the
courage and faith to reject Nebuchadnezzar’s idols and gods and to face the
furnace. Just as God was with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr – when he
rejected the established status quo, when he worked tirelessly for civil
rights, when he protested the Vietnam War, and when he was killed for his
beliefs and his activism. Just as God was with every single one of the marchers
yesterday – here in San Diego, in Los Angeles, in D.C., in Nashville, Boise,
and Oklahoma, in cities around the world, marchers committed to intersectional
feminism where people of all genders and races can flourish and receive equal
opportunities. People young and old, insisting that women’s rights are human
rights and human rights are women’s rights. God is with us, my friends. And God
is most definitely still speaking.
The simple fact that God is still speaking is
not enough. We all know what it’s like to speak to a room of people and not be
heard. To feel that our words have no effect. As Christians, it is our duty to
listen for God’s word, for God’s voice, in the midst of the suffering and
turmoil. It is our duty to transform those words into action. As Dr. King
reminds us, “We, as a nation, must undergo a radical revolution of values.. we
must shift from a thing-oriented society to a person oriented society.” We are
in need of remembering that we are all beloved children of God. We are
relational beings. The ways in which we
interact with each other – the ways in which we thrive – are because of our
relationships with each other. Our love for our fellow human beings should
mirror the unconditional love God has for each of us. Each and every one of us
is a blessed child of God. We are called to make this world one where every child of God can flourish. A world
where Black Lives Matter. A world where trans lives matter. A world where
people do not live in fear of being deported or of not knowing where they’ll
sleep tonight.
Dr. King reminds us that it is not enough just
to be the good Samaritan. We must transform the entire Jericho road. We must
take a close look at the structures and institutions that allow such suffering
to occur. We must listen to the voice of God, listen for it in the world around
us, in the voices of the suffering and the oppressed and we must transform it
into action.
Like Dr. King, we are called to be prophets,
to be witnesses of the radical, unconditional love that Jesus preached. A love
that sees difference and diversity as something to be celebrated. A love that
lifts up the lowly and the oppressed. A love that inspires us to work in soup
kitchens, organize clothing drives, donate to charities, march in the streets.
A love that will not stay silent in the face of injustice and oppression. A love
that urges us to care for creation because this world is the only one we have
to live in and we must preserve it for future generations. This love is neither
weak nor cowardly. This is a radical love. A powerful, transformative force
that is not willing to let injustice thrive. A love in which we all hold each
other accountable. It is the love we hear about in the first letter attributed
to John: “Let us love one another, for love is God. And everyone that loves is
born of God and knows God. For the person that does not love, does not know
God.” “If we love one another, God dwells in us and God’s love is perfected in
us.”
We must now take up this calling to love. We
must hear God’s voice in the cries and shouts of those who live in fear – in
fear of losing their rights, in fear of losing their healthcare, in fear of
being deported. The time is now. We cannot sit idly by when the world around us
is so clearly in need.
In the words of Dr. King:
Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful struggle for a new world. This is the calling of the children of God, and our siblings wait eagerly for our response. Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Or will there be another message – of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history… If we do not act, we risk being dragged down the corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.
In the nearly 50 years since Dr. King
preached these words at Riverside Church in New York City to protest the
Vietnam War, our country has changed, but we are still in need of more change.
We remain in desperate need of the revolution of values that Dr. King
preached. We live in a world in
desperate need of God’s radical and unconditional love and it is up to us to be
witnesses and prophets, to live out this calling of love. To continue the good
work even though the road may be hard. To not give up, despite the odds. All of
us here today are gathered together in love and in God’s name and we are
strengthened by that. Strengthened by each other. We must not lose hope.
There’s a line in the new Star Wars movie that goes “Rebellions are built on
hope.” If we wish to honor the legacy of Dr. King, then we must cling to that
hope, we must become that rebellion based on God’s love seeking to transform
the world. The hope that is ever present in love. The hope that drives out
despair. The hope that remains always. We are a people of love and a people of
hope. And we shall not be overcome by the suffering of this world. We shall not
be overcome by despair. We shall overcome despair with hope, we shall overcome
hatred with love, and we shall keep on keeping on – working in hope, faith, and
love until that when justice will indeed roll down live a river.
Amen.
