Linda and I have returned home from a 24 day southern adventure. Since moving back to Minnesota, we have now joined the myriad of "sotans" who take time during the winter months to head south for warmth and R and R. Travel also gives us great times of learning and reflection. Hence, I brought along a book by Richard T. Hughes entitled Christian America and the Kingdom of God. A great book. He writes of how America came to believe itself a Christian nation and how questionable is this claim. He also writes that Jesus' purpose was to usher in the Kingdom of God. In a later blog I will be commenting on his thesis. For now I will focus on the Reign of God, the Kingdom of God.
Museums give a paradoxical insight into the character of the Kingdom of God. We visited several on our journey. Museums are more than a collection of artifacts. Museums are essentially "story". They tell us stories about persons, events, and creations. A couple of weeks ago I shared the civil rights story and what those events say to us today, and how we can help make real the Kingdom of God by duplicating their actions. The challenge now is to learn from these stories, much like we learn from the Biblical stories, and how these stories can give us insights about making real the Reign of God.
We, or should I say "I", visited the Naval Museum in Mobile, Alabama. As Linda read the newspaper and organized our gear, I walked through the battleship USS Alabama, gazed upon American fighter aircraft, took pictures of a Russian MIG-15, wiggled through a submarine, and walked around a B-52 intercontinental bomber in "mothballs". As a kid I liked to build plastic models of ships, bombers, and fighters. Now the real thing! I was surrounded by steel, gun turrets, 20mm, 40mm, 5" guns, bullets of many calibers, 16" projectiles which could travel over 20 miles, torpedos, and subsonic to mach 2.5 fighter aircraft. Massive, sophisticated killing machines covered acres of ground and water. I felt a cold adrenaline rush.
Likewise, when we were in New Orleans, we toured the new WWII Museum. Hanging from the ceiling were fighter aircraft, a C-47 that flew over Normandy, tanks, a German 88 anti-aircraft battery, guns of every sort, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of pictures. There was the moving story of the American Jewish soldier, fighting for freedom while also experiencing forms of discrimination. The 4-D movie narrated by Tom Hanks was a visual buffet of sights, sounds, motion, and smells of the conflict. There were about 65 million deaths in that war: 465,000 Americans, 20 million Russians, 12 million Asians, 6 million Jews, and onward on a descending spiral. Most of the dead were the innocents, caught in the crosshairs of "honor and national justification".
Then came Tucson. Another war. The shooter and the victims. The Violence Policy Center says there are 283 million guns in American homes. It reports a direct relationship between the availability of guns per state and the rate of gun deaths per state. An article in the Des Moines Register reports that in 2007, there were 12, 632 homicides in the United States, 179 in Canada, 42 in Great Britain, and 30 in Australia. Americans own more guns than these three countries combined. Indeed, if my memory is correct, gun deaths per year in the USA are more than all other nations in the world combined, unless there is a war within a nation. As an aside, while driving through Alabama, we saw more huge fireworks stands than I have seen in any other state. Also, there was a sign: "One Million Rounds of Ammo" for sale at a local gun store. The ritual of death had come closer to home and become more personal and possible for each of us. Museums of the past had come home to the present.
I have never been a fan of the Just War crowd. Violence cannot be justified. Violence creates only victims. Violence is a sign of brokenness, of us falling short of God's design. Violence is sin. Violence is the antithesis of the Kingdom of God. Yes, I know we can say that we needed to stop Hitler and Tojo, that we needed to stop the Holocaust, that we needed to teach Sadam a lesson, that we needed to halt the aggression and genocide in the Balkans, that we needed to fight for our independence from England. The arguments are strong and the justifications convincing. But let us not allow these arguments and justifications to assuage our consciences and parade down the avenue of celebration, carrying the cross as if it were the flag of nations. The Kingdom of God, the Reign of God is about love and reconciliation and peace and nonviolence. If we allow for anything less we distort the life of Christ. Jesus wept because he was saddened at the death of his friend. Jesus wept at the anticipation of his impending suffering. Jesus cried out: "Why have You forsaken me?" War, death, bullets, guns are signs of us forsaking God's will and choosing our will. It is pure nationalistic ego to carry the cross of Christ at the forefront of battle.
This is why the Kingdom of God, the Reign of God, is also about forgiveness. Being there is no justification for war and violence, there can only be mercy. We bend our knees, bow our heads, and open our hands to receive God's gracious forgiveness. We confess our complicity in creating the downward spiral of death. No celebrations. No hymns to honor. No twisted logic. Just confession and forgiveness and restoration and recommitment to making real the Reign of God, the Kingdom of God in Christ.
While in Montgomery, Alabama, Linda and I visited the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Civil Rights Memorial Center. We heard more stories of moral courage based upon nonviolence as the method for change. Gandhi was given a significant place as inspiration for King's commitment. Part of the SPLC was the Wall of Tolerance, a huge visual scroll of names committed to nonviolence. You could add your name. We did. A small act. A step. Museums are about people who take steps. It is steps that make real the Reign of God.
Peace,
Ron
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Civil Rights Lessons
Her name is Annie. Her name card reads: "Civil Rights Activist and Foot Soldier". She was in the Selma March on 7 March, 1964. She says she was the first one arrested. I asked her if the marchers sang and prayed. "No time for that", she said. When we first met, she was on the phone with an author who is writing an account of the march and she wanted Annie's recollections. We talked a few yards from the Edmund Pettis Bridge. As we shook hands I thanked her for her witness and encouraged her to keep up the struggle.
Margurite is a tour guide at MLK, Jr's former parsonage. She is 80 years old. She joined Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church while he was pastor (1956-1960). Her affection for her former pastor is clear.
Linda and I traveled the trail of civil rights activists and actions. We visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, located at the old Lorraine Motel where MLK, Jr. was assassinated. We also visited the building across the street, seeing the bathroom where James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot. We stood six feet from the spot where King was shot. We looked inside his room. We visited Birmingham, Alabama, where four children were killed by a bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church, and where children and adults were water hosed, bitten by dogs, and clubbed by the police in Kelly-Ingram Park. There is also an excellent museum which tells the story. We visited Selma, walked over the bridge, and spoke with Annie. We visited Montgomery, Alabama, visited the Rosa Parks Museum, and stood on the site where Rosa was arrested. We visited Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, viewed King's office, saw his desk, listened to some stories. We climbed the State Capitol steps to stand where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office for the Presidency of the Confederacy, and where the Selma March concluded with King speaking.
What can we learn from this civil rights era to give us courage and purpose for today's struggles? The Civil Rights Struggle must not be relegated to the dustbin of history, having no relevance for today, being only a hollow echo. The struggle is a great teacher and a source of inspiration.
First, there is change only with struggle. The status quo is always reluctant to change. Expect to expend great effort. As Elie Wiesel says: "Neutrality helps only the oppressor, never the victim".
Second, expect to pay a great price. Justice happens only through suffering. We may lose friends. We may lose our job. Our reputations may suffer. We may die. The list of martyrs is long. Step up! A person said: "Votelessness is hopelessness". The children of Birmingham were blown down by the force of fire hoses, but they marched. Freedom now!
Third, be in it for the long haul. First, the Blacks were slaves. Then in 1787, men became 2/3 of a man in our Constitution. Following the Civil War, several progressive civil rights bills were passed, but then not enforced when Union soldiers left the South during the Republican presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. The disappointment of Plessey v. Ferguson in 1897, opened the door to separate but equal. Yet, hope rebounded in 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education. The Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded in ending Blacks sitting in the back of the bus. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 gave more rights and freedoms to the Black community. In short, freedom evolved over centuries of effort, by people who committed for the long haul.
Fourth, Congress is both helpful and a hindrance. Similarly, the Supreme Court is both helpful and a hindrance. Expect a mixed bag. Politics and justice are contradictory rapid streams AND molasses trying to flow upstream! Yet, the truth is that over time it is congress and the court's actions in creating and interpreting the laws that leads to lasting progress and justice.
Fifth, justice happened when the Federal authority was used to trump individual states' rights. States' rights must not trample on the universal meaning of the Constitution. Today, there is a growing urge to blindly give ultimate power to the states at the cost of justice for all.
Sixth, the church is central to change for justice. Historically, the church was the one place for African-Americans to gather, organize, pray, and hear the moral vision for justice. Meetings often started with prayer, and the pulpit the "sounding horn of Tekoa" for God's grace to shine!
Seventh, justice happens when people are "fed-up being fed-up"! There comes a time when we must say "Enough"! Who is fed-up being fed-up today?
Eighth, ONE PERSON can spark a revolution, can make a difference. Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to bring forth". Sojourner Truth defended her womanhood by asking the question: "Ain't I a woman?" In front of the Southern Poverty Law Center is a black marble disk with water flowing over the names of martyrs who intentionally or innocently paid the ultimate price for freedom. On the wall behind the disk are the words from Amos: "Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream".
On her card, Annie has printed: "The lessons must be retaught! The story must be retold!" The Book of Hebrews speaks of the "cloud of witnesses who have gone before us". We have been graced by these witnesses to empower us to make justice real today. Let us learn. Let us act.
Peace!
Ron
Margurite is a tour guide at MLK, Jr's former parsonage. She is 80 years old. She joined Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church while he was pastor (1956-1960). Her affection for her former pastor is clear.
Linda and I traveled the trail of civil rights activists and actions. We visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, located at the old Lorraine Motel where MLK, Jr. was assassinated. We also visited the building across the street, seeing the bathroom where James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot. We stood six feet from the spot where King was shot. We looked inside his room. We visited Birmingham, Alabama, where four children were killed by a bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church, and where children and adults were water hosed, bitten by dogs, and clubbed by the police in Kelly-Ingram Park. There is also an excellent museum which tells the story. We visited Selma, walked over the bridge, and spoke with Annie. We visited Montgomery, Alabama, visited the Rosa Parks Museum, and stood on the site where Rosa was arrested. We visited Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, viewed King's office, saw his desk, listened to some stories. We climbed the State Capitol steps to stand where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office for the Presidency of the Confederacy, and where the Selma March concluded with King speaking.
What can we learn from this civil rights era to give us courage and purpose for today's struggles? The Civil Rights Struggle must not be relegated to the dustbin of history, having no relevance for today, being only a hollow echo. The struggle is a great teacher and a source of inspiration.
First, there is change only with struggle. The status quo is always reluctant to change. Expect to expend great effort. As Elie Wiesel says: "Neutrality helps only the oppressor, never the victim".
Second, expect to pay a great price. Justice happens only through suffering. We may lose friends. We may lose our job. Our reputations may suffer. We may die. The list of martyrs is long. Step up! A person said: "Votelessness is hopelessness". The children of Birmingham were blown down by the force of fire hoses, but they marched. Freedom now!
Third, be in it for the long haul. First, the Blacks were slaves. Then in 1787, men became 2/3 of a man in our Constitution. Following the Civil War, several progressive civil rights bills were passed, but then not enforced when Union soldiers left the South during the Republican presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. The disappointment of Plessey v. Ferguson in 1897, opened the door to separate but equal. Yet, hope rebounded in 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education. The Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded in ending Blacks sitting in the back of the bus. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 gave more rights and freedoms to the Black community. In short, freedom evolved over centuries of effort, by people who committed for the long haul.
Fourth, Congress is both helpful and a hindrance. Similarly, the Supreme Court is both helpful and a hindrance. Expect a mixed bag. Politics and justice are contradictory rapid streams AND molasses trying to flow upstream! Yet, the truth is that over time it is congress and the court's actions in creating and interpreting the laws that leads to lasting progress and justice.
Fifth, justice happened when the Federal authority was used to trump individual states' rights. States' rights must not trample on the universal meaning of the Constitution. Today, there is a growing urge to blindly give ultimate power to the states at the cost of justice for all.
Sixth, the church is central to change for justice. Historically, the church was the one place for African-Americans to gather, organize, pray, and hear the moral vision for justice. Meetings often started with prayer, and the pulpit the "sounding horn of Tekoa" for God's grace to shine!
Seventh, justice happens when people are "fed-up being fed-up"! There comes a time when we must say "Enough"! Who is fed-up being fed-up today?
Eighth, ONE PERSON can spark a revolution, can make a difference. Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to bring forth". Sojourner Truth defended her womanhood by asking the question: "Ain't I a woman?" In front of the Southern Poverty Law Center is a black marble disk with water flowing over the names of martyrs who intentionally or innocently paid the ultimate price for freedom. On the wall behind the disk are the words from Amos: "Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream".
On her card, Annie has printed: "The lessons must be retaught! The story must be retold!" The Book of Hebrews speaks of the "cloud of witnesses who have gone before us". We have been graced by these witnesses to empower us to make justice real today. Let us learn. Let us act.
Peace!
Ron
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