​When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”  Matthew 2:16-18
 
 
In the key verse above, this mass killing of innocent children by King Herod was ostensibly to prevent Jesus from usurping Herod’s kingship. Ramah, situated near Bethlehem, was home to the tribe of Benjamin, who was Rachel’s son. Her grave is located between Ramah and Bethlehem. Rachel weeps for her descendants, her children, who have been murdered. They are no more.
 
Parents and families in Uvalde, Texas, weep today because 19 of their children (and two teachers) are no more.
 
On US school campuses, there have been over 900 incidences of gun fire. In a recent poll, more than 57% of teens go to school expecting the possibility of a shooting.
 
As the news of this latest school shooting spreads through international news outlets, even Ukrainians living in the midst of constant missile attacks in their own country ask an American journalist why this happens in the US. It is shocking to them and to the world.
 
Why does it have to be this way?
 
In the US where guns outnumber people and gun rights laws outweigh gun safety laws, we are living and dying in unprecedented times. Beginning in 2020, gun violence is the number one killer of children, more than the number of deaths due to motor vehicle crashes. On an average daily basis, roughly 12 children die every day in the US from gunshot wounds. Homicide is the reason for the deaths of more than two-thirds of the 4,368 children killed by gun violence in 2020, while suicides account for 30% of these deaths. (Note that almost 40,000 people die every year in the US due to gun violence.)
 
Traveling internationally gives me an awareness of how other countries manage social issues and I wonder why gun rights and gun safety laws in the US have become so politicized, all at the cost of our children’s lives. Are we saying that guns are more important than our children?
 
Just days before this mass shooting, an ad displayed by the gun manufacturer of the gun used in Uvalde shows a photograph of a toddler holding a semi-automatic rifle with the caption of Proverbs 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”* I seriously doubt that the writer of the book of Proverbs had semi-automatic rifles in mind when penning that verse. God must shed many tears over how Scripture is misused in order to justify one’s actions.
 
In Matthew 19:14, Jesus Himself says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” In the society in which Jesus lived, children were not valued. Yet children were significant to Him. He valued them. And still does.
 
A majority of Americans support some form of gun safety laws which can include background checks (including at gun shows and other private sales), red-flag laws that temporarily take guns from a mentally ill person, or even banning assault-type weapons. Yet what message are we sending to our children regarding how valuable they are to us when we use our vote to support politicians who refuse to pass gun safety laws?
 
We cannot continue to sit back and allow mass shootings to occur and the trend is only getting worse. Just this Memorial Day weekend, at least 11 mass shootings (defined as 4 or more people killed or injured) occurred.
 
I come back to the question of “Why?” Why does it have to be this way in the US where parents are afraid to send their children to school and are told to memorize what their child wears each day in case they have to identify their bodies? If we stand up for our children, for our neighbors, for our communities, perhaps we can stem the tide that gun violence has flooded into our society. It is all about loving our neighbors and doing what’s right by them and their (and our) innocent children. For after all, as Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
 
 
Heavenly Father, how Your heart must break when gun violence kills innocent children. Motivate me to use my voice and my resources for good, to protect the vulnerable, and to love my neighbors well. May I not misrepresent Your Word by twisting it for my own purposes but may I seek what is true, noble, and right. Amen.
 
 
NOTE: A good place to start fighting gun violence is in your own home. If you own a gun, keep it locked up and the ammunition stored separately. If you know someone who has a gun, ask them to do the same.
There are good organizations that work to end gun violence, promote related mental health issues, and help victims. Check out Charity Navigator’s list: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=9609. Also use Charity Navigator’s search bar to find other similar organizations in the fight against gun violence.
Moms Demand Action is a gun violence prevention group that operates under the auspices of Everytown for Gun Safety (their Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible).
Other worthwhile organizations include Giffords (both Giffords.org and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords) and BradyUnited.org (founded by former White House Press Secretary Jim Brady).
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the Lennon Wall in Prague, Czech Republic. Originally an outlet to speak against the former Communist regime, the wall became associated with John Lennon after he was shot and killed in 1980. Today the wall is associated with global ideals of love and peace.
 
 
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A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
 
Scripture quotations marked with an asterisk (*) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.  Psalm 35:22-23
 
 
My eyes squint at the clock on the bedside table as I turn on my phone. It’s too early for calls, yet my cell phone is humming. Checking the number, I swipe “decline” as I don’t recognize who is calling. A few minutes pass and my phone rings again. It is also an unknown number but the same area code as the first one. I swipe “decline” again, thinking that if it is important, they will leave a message. Little do I know as I start my day that this phone scenario will repeat itself over thirty times, each time a different number within the same area code.
 
Realizing I have some voicemail messages, I start checking them. Interestingly, two of the messages contain words that very emphatically direct me not to keep calling them! What? I haven’t made any phone calls all day. Why do they think I called them when they had clearly called me? I am the victim of this scam, but they think I am the perpetrator!
 
A trip to the local phone company sheds light on this situation. I have been spoofed! Since this is a technological term I am not familiar with, they explain that there are apps to make prank phone calls, but now spam callers use these apps to hide behind legitimate phone numbers such as mine in order to make their spam calls. In other words, when a spammer calls someone, my number pops up on the display. I am definitely a victim, but so are the other people who thought I had repeatedly called them because they are the potential victims of the scammer. The phone calls add unwanted stress to my day (and months ahead) and I feel as if my privacy and my identity are violated. I also feel wrongly accused of making numerous annoying phone calls when I had not called anyone at all.
 
Penning Psalm 35, David expresses his feelings of being falsely accused. Hunted by a deranged king by the name of Saul, David is on the run. Having been falsely accused of many things and persecuted by Saul, David is the derision of his people. In verse 20, he writes, “They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land.” In his anguish, David tries to remove himself from the situation as best as he can. He knows he is innocent of the accusations. In verses 22-24, he prays to God and says, “LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me.” Before God begins to answer his prayers, David praises Him, confident of the Lord’s help. Psalm 35:28 says, “My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.” David finds hope in the Lord as God defends David against those who malign him. Ultimately, David is restored and later becomes king of Israel.
 
Not all of us are kings, however. While God does restorative work, there are untold thousands who have been incarcerated unjustly. There are many who have been jailed for decades and even put to death who are innocent. There are organizations like The Innocence Project who work on behalf of innocent victims to free them from incarceration. Click here to learn more and to contribute to their good work.
 
When I was the victim of spoofing, I was treated unjustly and blamed as the perpetrator.  How often are victims in society today blamed for their circumstances which are beyond their control? Do we blame people who are innocent but go to jail simply because they happen to be at the wrong place and the wrong time? Do we blame poor people for being poor because we think they are not trying, that they are lazy, that they aren’t smart enough (or whatever, fill in the blank) to be successful? Or do we recognize that the institutions in this world are set up to enable the wealthy and powerful and to keep poor people poor and powerless?
 
Perhaps the better question is to ask what we are doing about victim blaming. How are we using our own power and resources to dismantle the powers that continue to oppress? How are we standing up for our neighbor? Whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus (Matthew 25:40*).
 
Lord, forgive me when I victim blame. Help me show compassion to those less fortunate than myself. May I use my voice, resources, and power to fight injustice and oppression. Amen.
 
 
*Jesus speaking in Matthew 25:40 - “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the interior of La Conciergerie in Paris, France, the French Revolution prison where Marie Antoinette spent her last days.
 
 
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A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”  John 12:12-15
 
 
A Gallup poll released last year shows that the percent of Americans who consider themselves members of a church, synagogue, or mosque has dropped below 50%. By age group, the decline is more prevalent in younger generations. The reason for this drop in religious institution affiliation is attributed to a growing lack of trust in all institutions, a disillusionment in certain religious leaders, and a desire to have agency over one’s own spirituality. However, according to the Pew Research Center, Americans are more likely than people in other countries to say their religious faith has become stronger during the pandemic. Perhaps in these changing times, people are reconsidering what’s important to them.
 
At another time in history, religiosity also came into question. When Jesus began His public ministry, He upended people’s thinking regarding religion and threatened the power structure of the religious leadership. Indeed, His kingdom upended the world order, but not in the way that was anyone was expecting.
 
In Luke 4:1-13*, Jesus fasts for 40 days in the desert and then the devil arrives on the scene to entice Jesus to turn stones into bread. When He refuses, the devil then offers Him the power to rule all earthly kingdoms. When that fails, the devil tempts Him to test God’s protection by throwing Himself off the highest point of the temple. While it’s important to realize that Jesus uses Scripture to refute each of these temptations, it is interesting to look at the significance of these particular temptations: provision, power, and protection.**
 
Putting these verses into context, Jesus lived during Roman times where Caesar ruled most aspects of life. The Roman government gave provisions of grain for bread to all poor people and it protected all people within the empire from other marauding kingdoms. This strategy of provision and protection helped Caesar maintain his power over the people and ensure his kingdom would continue. Of course, he exercised that power ruthlessly.
 
Jesus did not come to be Caesar's successor. His plan to furnish provision and protection played out on a different stage where He broke bread with 5,000 men and their families, multiplying a few simple loaves to feed their hungry bodies physically as His words fed their souls. His ultimate sacrifice of His own life bought protection from spiritual death for His followers. Unlike Caesar, Jesus’ way of provision and protection isn't by ruthless power but by love, mercy, and sacrifice. Jesus' refusal of the devil's offers of provision, power, and protection is a display of God's kingdom at work, one where love wins, mercy triumphs, and humility reigns.
 
It is no coincidence that right after He is tempted by the devil to create an entirely different power-grabbing rule, Jesus declares His mission statement and defines His kingdom (Luke 4:14-21*).
 
When Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah and declares His mission, the people are astonished because this is, after all, their neighborhood carpenter’s son. How did He become so eloquent? But He is not the Warrior-Messiah they expect. They only see a carpenter-turned-miracle worker. When Jesus refuses to perform miracles for them, they become angry and even try to push Him off a cliff (Luke 4:22-30*). Their expectations are poorly placed and they totally miss Jesus' mission and ministry as well as His definition of God's kingdom.
 
Even the Pharisees and religious leaders fail to see who Jesus is and mistake Him for someone trying to steal their power. He rails against their rules and regulations that prevent the poor from participating in community and in worship. He blasts them for their self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and lack of compassion that reveal their hard hearts are far from God.
 
When Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey instead of a mighty stallion, He is not the Messiah they expect. While they praise Him and wave palm branches on the day we know as Palm Sunday, they quickly turn against Him and by Good Friday, He is imperiled on a cross. But by Easter Sunday, He triumphs over death as He resurrects to new life.
 
Perhaps we mistake who Jesus is, too. With all the trappings of organized religion, it’s easy to focus on the music, sermons, and programs, and not see the Jesus who walked the earth to bring food to the hungry and to set the oppressed free.
 
During this pandemic, there are many people who are reconsidering their values and reevaluating their religious and spiritual beliefs in terms of any related relevance to church. Perhaps if we reexamine our beliefs in light of the life of Jesus, we’ll experience a deconstructed faith that all boils down to what Jesus refers to as the greatest commandments: love God and love people (Matthew 22:37-40***). It’s really that simple.
 
Jesus is the Unexpected Messiah who came not to conquer Rome as anticipated but to usher in a totally new and unconventional kingdom, one not defined by power but by love, a kingdom where everyone has a seat at the table and where the throne is replaced by a cross. Let all come and freely partake of the Bread of Life.
 
 
Risen Christ, You rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey instead of a mighty stallion to show the world Your kingdom is not about the world’s view of provision, power, and protection as much as it’s about love, mercy, and humility. Help me follow in Your footsteps to walk out the basic tenets of faith: to love You and to love people with both mercy and humility, with compassion, kindness, and sacrifice. Amen.
 
 
*Luke 4:1-30 – click here for verses
 
**The essay that inspired parts of this blog is Bread, Power, and Safety, by Diana Butler Bass,  https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-musings?s=r
 
***Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Ruinas de San Francisco (San Francisco Ruins), a church built in 1731 in Mendoza, Argentina. It is the only building that remained after a devastating earthquake in 1861 which destroyed the rest of Mendoza. The city was rebuilt nearby.
 
  
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As the invasion of UKRAINE by Russia continues to kill and displace Ukrainians, consider giving to organizations providing aid for refugees: Global Giving at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-relief-fund/ and World Central Kitchen at https://wck.org/.

 
A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Each day the news brings additional atrocities to the forefront of this unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The killing of civilians and especially children is simply gut-wrenching. Watching helplessly as the news unfolds, I seek to better understand this aggression and hope against hope that the bloodshed will end soon.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is complicated with a difficult history. I do not pretend to know all the nuances of this aggression against the Ukrainian government and its people. But there is one aspect to which I’d like to give voice: the entanglement of religion in this political and military conflict.

Today, the largest branches of Christianity are Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox. There are 260 million Orthodox Christians throughout the world, with half of them living in Russia and 30 million living in Ukraine. Beginning in the year 451, the spiritual leader of all Orthodox churches became known as the Patriarch of Constantinople. Some Orthodox churches are more directly influenced by the Patriarch of Constantinople while others are more autonomous. The city of Istanbul, Turkey, formerly Constantinople, is the headquarters of the Orthodox Church.

In about 980, Prince Vladimir of Kyiv (Prince Volodymyr in Ukrainian) decided to strengthen his control over his kingdom in what is now Ukraine by instituting a state religion. It was part of a bargain with Emperor Basil II of Constantinople. Prince Vladimir himself became a Christian and was baptized into this new religion while establishing the first Orthodox Church in Kyiv for his subjects, the Rus people, at a time before Russia existed. Prince Vladimir was later named Vladimir the Great and canonized as St Vladimir by the Orthodox Church. Today, he is considered a saint in both Ukraine and Russia.

In the 1200’s, due to war, people were scattered and those who took up residence in what is now Moscow started the Russian Orthodox Church as the seat of this branch of Orthodox Christianity. Over the centuries, there has been tension between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow as the latter controlled the former. The Moscow branch is significantly more conservative than some of the more Westernized Ukrainian churches.

In 2018, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kyiv, along with other Ukrainian Orthodox churches, even some Moscow-leaning ones, banded together to create the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. They sought and received the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople who established the sovereignty of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and removed it from the control of the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow.

The establishment of the autonomous Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Kyiv diminished some of the control over Ukraine by the Russian government which reportedly infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the Russian Orthodox Church is one of many tools in his tool box to control the Russian people as well as those in Ukraine, Putin had just lost some of his authority. In retaliation, Putin tried to rewrite history by installing a humongous statue of Vladimir the Great right outside of the Kremlin. He was saying, in effect, that he is still in control of the church and that the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow was the only valid church descended from Prince Vladimir, effectively removing Ukraine from that important part of history. With a statue having the same name as his own, perhaps he also intends to write himself into history as potentially Vladimir the Great II. His known obsession with Peter the Great and Catherine the Great would make that seem plausible.

Since 2018, this loss of control over a swath of Ukrainians contributes to this power play to regain control over Ukraine today. In the eyes of the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow, both Ukraine and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have become too Westernized and tainted by the “evil” West with values that don’t line up with the more conservative Russian government and church. Indeed, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow, reportedly said that holding gay parades in Donbas (southeastern region of Ukraine) is part of the reason for the “peacekeeping mission” by Russia in Ukraine. Because of his public support of this mission, he is currently experiencing backlash from other Orthodox leaders from within Russia and around the world.

From the Russian government and church’s perspective, the fact that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is Jewish is further evidence that Ukraine, in electing a Jewish leader rather than an Orthodox one, is aligning more with the West and less with the Russian Orthodox Church and its values.

So how does all this play into the current conflict? Putin has said that the greatest catastrophe in the last century is the collapse for the former Soviet Union. He is challenging the West’s world order of democracy and apparently believes that the Rus people, those primarily in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, should be reunited again, ostensibly under his control via domination, along with complicity from the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church. This national identity of both Rus and Russian Orthodoxy is so intertwined that it is difficult to separate the two, a point that Putin seeks to use to his advantage. To gain control over the Orthodox Church of Ukraine may not be Putin’s main objective, but it certainly plays an important role in today’s conflict.

Interestingly, over a millennium ago, Prince Vladimir was baptized in Crimea. Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 is viewed by some as a proper returning of that piece of Orthodox history to the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow. The fact that there was no international interference to Russia’s annexation of Crimea has helped to fuel his plans to overtake the rest of Ukraine, particularly Kyiv.

Today’s invasion is a desperate attempt to regain control, rewrite history, and recreate a new Russia, all under the thumb of an authoritarian dictator. Using religion to tie the destiny of Ukraine to Russia is not new. Nor is using religion to create a nationalist movement. To history students, however, this may feel like a modern-day crusade, not unlike the ones from the Middle Ages where neighboring people groups were either conquered or killed in the name of Jesus. Sadly, today, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Orthodox Christians are killing other Orthodox Christians for the sake of creating a new nationalistic world order controlled by the Russian government with the complicity and blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The fact that the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church has blessed the government’s invasion (or “peacekeeping mission”) of Ukraine is important. If Putin actually believes that he is doing God’s will in invading, destroying, and conquering Ukraine, then nothing will stop him. We can only hope for divine intervention. And soon.
 

Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of a crucifix at a bridge over the River Inn, Innsbruck, Austria.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”  Matthew 25:40
 
 
“Eat your dinner. There are starving children in this world.” Being a picky eater as a child, I heard that refrain a lot. I could not fathom how eating everything on my plate could help a starving child in a faraway country. But I did as I was told. Mom obviously wanted to instill in me the good value of not wasting food and her motto was definitely “waste not, want not.”
 
Today there are hundreds of millions of starving children and adults in the world. I find it shocking that 37 million* of them live in the US. Why does 11.4%* of the world’s wealthiest nation live in poverty, a percentage that’s higher than many other wealthy countries?
 
I believe the answer to that question is hiding in plain sight within the issue of social justice. While many may think of “social justice” as some liberal cause, the term was coined in the 1840’s by a Jesuit priest. But its roots go back further than that, all the way to Bible times.
 
But first, what is social justice? Simply defined, social justice is applying justice to society. It means bringing fairness and equity to all persons in a society, treating all with dignity and fairness.
 
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word mishpat means “justice” or “judgment” and occurs over 400 times. Tzedekah, found over 300 times in the Old Testament, is Hebrew for “righteousness” but it is not personal righteousness or piety. This word is used in the context of community, as in “doing what is right” or “justice in action”. Whenever these two Hebrew words are paired, the meaning is social justice. Given the frequency of these words in the Bible, it’s clear that God is serious about social justice.
 
The Greek word dikaiosune in the New Testament is often translated as “righteousness,” but its meaning is closer to the word “justice.” For example, in Matthew 5:6, when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled,” He is saying that those who hunger and thirst after social justice (not personal piety) will be satisfied.
 
The Latin phrase imago Dei literally means “image of God” and comes from Genesis 1:27 which says God created humans in His image. The concept of imago Dei means that every person is created in the image of God. When we honor the imago Dei in each other, we are honoring God. In our pursuit of godliness, I wonder if we sometimes focus on the imago Dei in ourselves to the exclusion of imago Dei in others.
 
When society hinders certain of its members from becoming all they were created to be as God’s image bearers, the society as a whole will struggle to live up to its potential with certain members becoming “the least of these.” To glimpse the heart and soul of a society, of a nation, one only needs to take a look at how it treats its members deemed least worthy.
 
In Matthew 25:31-46**, Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats where He, the Son of Man, will gather all nations and either commend or condemn them for how they treated their least worthy members. As He sorts them to the right and to the left, He says to those deemed righteous (e.g., who acted justly) that they provided food and drink when He was hungry and thirsty, invited Him in when He was a stranger, clothed Him when He was naked, helped Him when He was sick, and visited Him when He was in prison. The astonished people ask Him when it was that they saw Him in such need. Jesus replies in verse 40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” To those on His left who did not do for the least of these, Jesus does not mince words. In verse 41, He says, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
 
The litmus test of faith is found in verse 46 where Jesus starkly contrasts the actions of both groups to show there are eternal consequences for doing or not doing “for the least of these.” Those who actually helped the needy are granted eternal life. Those who did not are condemned to eternal punishment. Faith without works is indeed dead (James 2:17**).
 
The work of social justice as outlined in Matthew 25 doesn’t take place within the walls of a church building. No amount of Bible study and prayer can substitute for the actual aid given to those in need and for the tireless work to pursue justice for them. Jesus states in Matthew 22:37-40** that the greatest commandment is to love God with our whole being. And He adds, the second commandment is like it: to love our neighbors as ourselves. Both of these are commands and both are holy pursuits. Often, we focus on the first commandment but ignore or neglect the second one. Sometimes “neighbor” is so narrowly defined that we let ourselves off the hook to help.
 
Social justice is not a liberal cause. It is the Christian’s response to the injustices in our society. It is the holy and radical pursuit of loving our neighbors. It is simply love in action. And it is indeed the way of Jesus.
 
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and a day of repentance. May reflection and repentance spur us anew in the holy pursuit of social justice. May we view social justice as the way to love our neighbors as we follow Jesus.
 
 
Lord Jesus, although eating my childhood dinners didn’t directly impact a starving child, my actions today can help the least of these by alleviating poverty and promoting justice when I choose to love my neighbors in my community and around the world. May the good work of social justice rise from the ashes of poverty, prejudice, and hatred to create a better world for all of Your image bearers. Amen.
 
 
*Per the 2020 US Census report
 
**Matthew 25:31-46:  31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
 
**James 2:15-17: Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
 
**Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of an inspiring sculpture by Agustín Riganelli that guards a tomb in Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires. Discovering the plethora of sculpture and interesting architecture among this maze of mausoleums was an incredible surprise and a highlight of my trip to Argentina a few years ago.
 
 
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MARCH IS NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH! Learn more about it here: https://womenshistorymonth.gov/ and  https://www.pbs.org/show/womens-history-month/
 
A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham…and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.  Matthew 1:1, 16
 
 
Some of my earliest memories involve travel. At the time, however, I was probably a most unwilling traveler. I remembering spending many weekends in the car with my parents and brothers as we went from libraries to courthouses and from churches to cemeteries. You see, my father was passionate about discovering his family tree. Both he and my grandmother did much research to determine from where and from whom we came. While Dad was zealous about the many facts he uncovered as he sought church records, public deeds, and headstones, I, on the other hand, was more thrilled with the trinkets purchased during these adventures, as many a child would be. Only now as an adult do I cherish those handwritten pages with print oh-so-tiny to fit in the designated ancestry blocks on the page. Only now do I understand the value of discovering my roots. Only now do I see that the legacies of my ancestors live on through me and that by knowing where I come from, I gain a better sense of my own identity.
 
I recently read an article* in The Washington Post that gave a more nuanced joy of discovering one’s roots. A man was contacted by his sister who told him an old property near their childhood home was up for sale. He remembered riding past this stately home in their rural county. But only after he purchased this home and the surrounding land did he realize how connected he and his family were to this property. It was not a coincidence that his last name and the name of the original owners in the 1800’s was the same. As he and his family dug deeper into the genealogy of the family associated with this old homestead, he discovered that his ancestors were enslaved on this property. This truth was bittersweet. To know where you come from is grounding, but to understand more concretely that your ancestors endured the horrors of slavery is traumatizing.
 
Unlike tracing the roots of my white ancestors through names and dates detailed in county and church records, ancestry details for descendants of slaves may only reveal gender and date of purchase, not names, birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates. Slavery prevents this discovery. Sadly, even stories that might have been passed down from generation to generation were kept under wraps because those generations close to slavery were too traumatized to repeat them. Perhaps they also didn’t want to traumatize their descendants. However, there is new research that shows that trauma can be carried in our genes from one generation to the next. So even without direct knowledge of those stories, the trauma of the past lives on in the lives of individuals today. But also, the trauma of structural racism that began in slavery lives on in our many institutions, laws, policies, and practices, impacting all of us, some obviously more than others.
 
In Matthew 1, the lineage of Jesus is detailed, tracing Jesus’ roots back to Abraham and David, which for Matthew, a Jew, that connection was of utmost importance in his understanding of who Jesus was. This lineage from both Abraham and David confirmed many of the prophecies of the Messiah, thus helping to prove Jesus was the Christ. (For another list of Jesus’ genealogy which traces Jesus’ roots all the way back to Adam and God, see Luke 3:23-38.)
 
Just as Matthew’s detailing of Jesus’ lineage helped him and his Jewish audience better understand and connect with the Messiah, understanding our roots helps connect us with our heritage in order to fully understanding who we are. The stories of our collective ancestors, particularly how they overcame hardships, encourage resilience when we face our own adversities.
 
As one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, Matthew was a witness to how Jesus put into practice His mission statement** on setting the oppressed free and how Jesus worked to create a more just society, often one person at a time. Matthew recorded this history in the book of the Bible that bears his name. 
 
History continues to be written. As the centuries-old legacy of chattel slavery continues to thread its way into the fabric of our society and into our daily lives, will we look back on our own history and be able to say we did what we could to undo the present-day effects of slavery and systemic racism? Will we follow Jesus’ example of love, justice, and mercy? If we don’t, our passivity breeds complicity. There’s no better time than the month of February, Black History Month, to read about the legacy of slavery in the lives of its victims and their descendants, to better understand our collective past, and to work together for a better future. Click here to learn more:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
 
 
Heavenly Father, the Bible states over and over that You are on the side of the oppressed, that You are for love, justice, and mercy. Increase my understanding of racial injustice and oppression in my community, in my country, and around the world. Help me not to be passive and complicit by ignoring the cries of those who suffer, but rather help me to actively work against injustice and by doing so, help fulfill Jesus’ mission to set the oppressed free. Amen.
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of a tree “dancing in the moonlight” on its gnarly roots in Mystery Valley, Arizona, where I visited some years ago. This valley of amazing red rock formations is located in the Navajo Tribal Park near Monument Valley.
 
 
*The article that inspired this blog is entitled “An Old Virginia Plantation, a New Owner and a Family Legacy Unveiled” written by Joe Heim, and appeared on washingtonpost.com on 1/22/22.
 
**Jesus’ mission statement is found in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
 
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A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find RECENTLY UPDATED resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

”His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” Luke 1:50-53
 
 
This Christmas season, the second one in this never-ending pandemic, wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. With plans canceled, the holidays were cobbled together just as the previous endless months witnessed me languishing through uncertainty, fear, and disappointment. My weary body and my worried brain began to wonder what this New Year will indeed hold.
 
Tomorrow, January 6, marks the beginning of Epiphany, the liturgical season that begins with the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child and ends as the Season of Lent begins. My own epiphanous journey throughout this holiday season of unpredictability is grounded by Mary’s Magnificat. Her words, nestled between Gabriel’s foretelling of Jesus’ birth and the birth of John the Baptist, bring a sense of calm and peace to my anxious heart. But that is only the beginning of this winding path to a deeper discovery of God and His purposes through His servant Mary.
 
Luke 1:46-55, often called the Magnificat or Mary’s Song, are verses I have previously viewed as words spilling over from a heart full of gratitude when Mary learns she is to give birth to the Messiah. Upon closer examination, I realize Mary’s words are an insightful epiphany of a society turned on its head when love, mercy, and justice intersect at the manger and continue all the way to the cross and beyond.
 
Verses 51-53 in particular jump off the page when I read that the proud, the rulers, and the rich will be brought down and the faithful, the humble, and the hungry will be lifted up. Jesus’ birth begins a new social order where the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). His isn’t a new world where the poor and humble exchange roles with the rich and powerful; He utterly destroys the concept of oppression and in doing so, ushers in the kingdom of heaven on earth where love reigns, mercy rules, and justice prevails.
 
In-between the manger and the cross, Jesus navigates a world filled with fear, dominated by the cruel, tyrannical, take-no-prisoners Roman government and exacerbated by the power-hungry, overbearing religious leaders, all of whom work within a system of oppression and injustice. Jesus, as described in His mission statement (Luke 4:18-19*), intends to turn society upside down with His focus on setting the prisoners and the oppressed free while providing good news to the poor, the marginalized, and those living on the fringes of society.
 
This is the Way of the Savior. This is God’s kingdom on earth. While Mary’s Song may be praise to her God, it is a foretelling of Emmanuel (“God with us”), the One born out of God’s love for all people, the One who showed mercy to all He encountered, and the One who died for justice for all. May we see hope in Mary’s Magnificat, hope for a better world where someday oppression is eliminated and true peace on earth reigns, a hope that begins with each of us when we follow in Jesus’ footsteps and stand up for the powerless, the poor, and the marginalized.
 
Jesus stepped out of the clouds of heaven and into the stable of humanity, fully understanding in His divinity the messiness of humankind. His great love compelled Him to enter into our fearful and difficult world to save not just souls, but also lives, and to teach us to love radically, to live fearlessly, and to follow Him relentlessly. Following Jesus means being His instrument of love, mercy, and justice in a world turned upside down by power, greed, and abuse. If only we would open our eyes to His works and wonders and our ears to His words.
 
The hope found in Mary’s Magnificat is only the beginning, for hope is a call to action.
 
What an incredible world this would be:
if we offer love instead of indifference,
if we show mercy instead of intolerance,
if we pursue justice instead of power.
 
Beginning with this New Year before us, may we each heed the call of Mary’s hope: to offer love, to show mercy, and to pursue justice.
 
 
Lord, in this sacred space between Christmas and Easter, may Your love, mercy, and justice be my epiphany and my guide to continue Your good work of turning the world upside down for the sake of the poor and disenfranchised. May Your hope and peace rule in this world and reign in my heart. Amen.
 
 
*Matthew 5:5 –“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
 
*Luke 4:18-19 - “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
 
Text and photographs copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the dove inside the cupola of Salzburg Cathedral, Austria. While a dove can symbolize the Holy Spirit or peace, here it symbolizes hope. The beautiful and ornate Dom zu Salzburg was a highlight of my 2019 trip to Salzburg. See also the colorful cupola and a view of the cathedral from behind the pipes of the massive organ upstairs.
 
 
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A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
​

The cupola inside Salzburg Cathedral, Austria:

Inside the beautiful Salzburg Cathedral:

“For nothing is impossible with God.”  Luke 1:37
 
 
An angel visits a young teen who humbly accepts the divine revelation she receives. She does not doubt but believes this miracle of divine birth as declared by this angelic being and previously foretold by the prophets.
 
That one so young articulates such a mature faith is a wonder.
 
She makes the difficult journey to Bethlehem as she is heavy with child and the donkey is heavy with her. The town is either so crowded or she and her fiancé are so poor that no one offers them a room. Cast aside in a smelly stable without the help of a midwife, she gives birth to the Son of God.
 
That God’s ways are often antithetical to the world’s is stunning.
 
A large heavenly host of angels appears, not to the wealthy and powerful, but to lowly shepherds who are just minding their sheep as they usually do on a cold night. Yet God choses the meek to defy the proud. They are the privileged ones to receive the message of the long-awaited Messiah.
 
That the kingdom of God turns our ideas of society on its head is extraordinary.
 
A dazzling star glimmers so bright in the heavens that it garners the attention of sages from a foreign country. So enthralled are they that they leave their hometown and travel for two years to follow this curious luminary. When it pauses to hover in the firmament, they discover the Christ Child and bow in worship as they shower Him with gifts.
 
That these foreigners worship Him is a marvel. That they find Him is a miracle.
 
What are the odds that all of this would happen as the Scriptures had foretold? The angel tells Mary that “nothing is impossible with God”, meaning God keeps His promises. He is able to do and will do all that He has foretold.
 
God reaches down from the heavens in the cuddly form of a newborn baby, born in a roughly-hewn trough to die on a ruggedly-chiseled cross. From cradle to grave, Jesus reveals Himself to be God incarnate yet fully human. He divinely navigates the trials and tribulations of terrestrial life to forge a path we can follow back to heaven, through the starry hosts to the throne of God.
 
When we believe in the miracles, no matter who we are or what we've done, against all odds, we become children of God. Perhaps that is the biggest miracle of all.
 
 
Lord, like Mary, may I be open to Your divine possibilities in my very human existence and may I heed Your calling and obey Your revelations to me. Like the shepherds and sages, may I bow down and simply worship You. Amen
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2021 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of a stain glass window in La Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, Lugano, Switzerland.
 
 
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A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan.  All rights reserved.

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.  Luke 18:6-8a
 
 
Day after day, she knocked on the door. The knocks were timid at first, then louder. Persistent. Desperate. Her creditors threatened to destroy her. Would the law actually protect this marginalized person who was fast losing hope?
 
Jesus’ favorite teaching tool was the use of the parable, a story that hid the meaning in layers of words for the faithful to find. In Luke 18, in the “Parable of the Persistent Widow” (see below for text), Jesus narrates a widow’s persistent attempts to entreat a disaffected judge to help her in her desperate plight. Her dogged attempts at knocking on the judge’s door finally wear him down and he eventually helps her. Typically, the meaning of this story is that persistence in prayer with our Heavenly Father yields results. But as we dig below the surface, this parable mines even greater riches.
 
What is prayer? Although this may be an all-too-basic question to ask, it begs asking, at least as a starting point. Prayer is simply a conversation with God. Whether we are on our knees or washing dishes, prayer is talking with God about our lives, including our hopes and dreams, as well as our sorrows and struggles. While prayer includes praise, thanksgiving, and confession, our focus today is on supplication, the petitions we implore on behalf of ourselves and others.
 
Prayer needn’t be full of pious words or smartly turned phrases. God simply wants our honesty. He is, after all, sovereign and omniscient (all-knowing) so He already knows what we need before we ask it (Matthew 6:7-8*). Yet it is in the conversation itself that we deepen our relationship when we are honest with God about our thoughts and feelings. Our raw emotions spill over into the holiness of God. It may feel like the good, the bad, and the ugly, depending on what is top of mind for us. Expressing anger, anxiety, sadness, or other emotions is perfectly fine. While we may have learned that feelings can’t be trusted, our feelings and emotions offer clues as to what’s wrong and show us where we need to direct our attention.
 
Honesty opens up the dialog between us and God. It’s the bridge that prayer is built on, one that deepens our faith. When we’re honest with God about our thoughts and feelings, our wants and needs surface more clearly and petitions fall naturally from our lips to God’s ears. And our ears hear more clearly the voice of God.
 
The widow in this story has great needs and she boldly petitions the judge to help her. As we look more closely, we see someone who in biblical society had no rights. Women were entirely dependent on their husbands or sons for their financial security. If they were widowed with no grown sons to support them, they often were poor.
 
I wonder why Jesus chose to cast a widow as one of the two characters in this drama. Perhaps His disciples had neighbors and relatives that were poor widows. Maybe Jesus wanted His followers to see how even a cantankerous judge is moved to help someone no one else wants to aid. Perhaps He wanted them to see prayer as a call to action.
 
The other character in the parable is the judge who is clearly fed up with the widow’s petitions. He grants her wish only so she will leave him alone. His motives are purely selfish. In contrast, God is good, merciful, and compassionate. He desires a relationship with us and calls us to converse with Him in prayer, never tiring of hearing our emotional pleas.
 
But God is also just and is always on the side of the oppressed. If an unjust judge will help a poor widow, how much more will God help those who are oppressed? Verse 7 tells us that God will hear the pleas of those who call out for justice and, unlike the judge in this parable, will not put them off.
 
The judge represents not only the antithesis of God in this story; perhaps the judge also symbolizes us. Do we ignore the needs around us out of busyness or complacency? If God puts someone on our hearts, do we just pray for them? Or do we see this as an opportunity to help? If we’re open to God’s Spirit, prayer can spring to life a new idea and craft an action plan to help someone in need.
 
It is said that prayer changes us. When we are honest with God in our prayer conversations, the doors of our hearts open to His will and to His work in ways that deepen our relationship with Him. Acting upon these conversations is a way to help those in need around us, whether they are persistently knocking or not. Honest prayers lead to action, not just the satisfaction in knowing we prayed today and can check it off the “list”. And that action can bring about God’s justice in a desperate world whose cries continue to be heard among the disenfranchised and the marginalized.
 
How honest are you with God? Who has He put on your heart? To what action might He be calling you? How can you be an instrument of God’s justice in your world of influence? Perhaps God is knocking on the doors of your heart today.
 
 
Father God, sometimes I make prayer complicated when all You ask for is an honest conversation. As You call me to pray, may I hear Your call for action, for the sake of those less fortunate and marginalized in my community and around the world. Amen.
 
 
Luke 18:1-8 - Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
 
 
*Matthew 6:7-8 – [Jesus says,]“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
 
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2021 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the medieval doors at St. Edward’s Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, that are said to be the inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s Doors of Durin in The Lord of the Rings.
 
 
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NOTE:  November is National Native American Heritage Month. Check out nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/.

A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Proverbs 31:8
 
 
Her illustrious career over decades won her numerous accolades. Yet her work practically dried up one day after attending a luncheon at the White House. Speaking from her convictions and pulling back the curtain on poverty, she found that speaking truth to power often comes with a price.
 
Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) was a Black American singer, actress, dancer, and activist. Her career, spanning decades, including three Emmy awards and numerous other nominations. Perhaps her best-known but controversial song was a sultry Santa Baby which was the best-selling Christmas song of 1953 and was later recorded by many other artists. Some may remember her for her role as Cat Woman in the 3rd season of the 1960’s TV series Batman.
 
Her career came to a screeching halt in 1968 after Eartha was invited by Lady Bird Johnson to a White House luncheon to discuss the growing issue of crime in America. As Eartha listened to the speeches by the other guests, she was disappointed as they failed to touch on the topic for which they had assembled. When Eartha stood to speak, she boldly laid out poverty as one of the underlying causes of crime, much to the discomfort of the white women in the room. When it was all over, Eartha Kitt found herself shunned from performing in the United States. The CIA even created a dossier on her.
 
How devastating it must have been for her to have fallen from grace so quickly simply for answering the question they ostensibly were there to hear. How disappointing it must have been to speak truth to power only to find herself out of work and out of favor.
 
What gave Eartha the strength to stand by her beliefs in the face of power? How could she remain strong despite the hardship of rejection by her own country? I believe the answer lies in her very core. She remained true to herself in spite of any fear she may have felt and regardless of the consequences. She knew who she was and she held true to her convictions to stand up for those who could not stand up for themselves. Speaking her truth led to backlash, but Eartha was able to live in peace with herself rather than pretend to be who others expected her to be. Eartha went on to perform internationally where she continued her stardom, never losing sight of her convictions.
 
As Eartha Kitt demonstrated, being true to yourself involves respecting, loving, and standing up for yourself which enables you to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute”, as our key verse states. As a result, lives and circumstances are changed for the better.
 
Being true to our deepest core means first understanding who we are which takes time and solitude to really know ourselves. Being true to ourselves also means being true to who God created us to be, endowed with all the gifts and talents He has bestowed upon us for His purposes. All of this informs our values and convictions.
 
Throughout my own life, I find that all roads lead back to being true to myself. Sometimes it feels like walking to the beat of a different drum which often has a social cost. But when I show up as my authentic self, there is no pretense, mask, or dissonance between who I portray myself to be and who I am. In the midst of struggles and conflicts, I can be my best self and find peace in the process.
 
But it isn’t just about me. When we live out God’s purposes with focus and intention from our authentic selves, we create ripples of change in our sphere of influence. Like skipping stones undulating a lake’s smooth façade, the sand shifts, grain by grain, as the ripples splash the shore.
 
Jesus spoke truth to power as He condemned the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who along with the Roman rulers, ultimately plotted and carried out a death sentence for His truth-telling. Yet Jesus was true to Himself and true to His mission to stand up to power for the sake of the marginalized so He could indeed have good news for the poor and truly set the oppressed free (Luke 4:16-21*). His movement of social justice continues to this day.
 
Eartha Kitt may not be a household name today, but her legacy of truth-telling lives on and the truths she spoke that day at the White House are still relevant over 50 years later. While daring to speak truth to power, she shined a spotlight on the injustices of poverty in this country and gave the much-needed Civil Rights Movement a push forward.
 
Jesus’ love for all humanity and His sense of justice motivated Him to speak truth to power. Eartha Kitt’s sense of justice motivated her, too. While we may not be invited to the White House to speak, when we speak truth bravely, when we live our lives as our true and authentic selves for our God-given purposes, regardless of the costs, we too can be a part of Jesus’ continuing mission to bring about the much-needed change in our society today.
 
 
Lord Jesus, You came to radically demonstrate God’s love to all people while speaking truth to the powerful in the society in which You lived. May I be fearless in speaking Your truth to power. May I be ever-conscious of those less fortunate who need a voice to speak for them so the chains of injustice may be broken. Fill my mind with Your truth and my heart with Your courage as I stay true to myself for Your purposes for me and for the sake of those in need. Amen.
 
 
*Luke 4:16-21:  He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
 
Text and photograph copyright © 2021 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Lake Windermere in the Lake District, England.
 
 
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NOTE: September 15 – October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. Check out: https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/ 
 https://artsandculture.google.com/project/uslatinocultures.
 
 
A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE:  Becoming antiracist is a journey. Together, we can make a difference. Will you join me? Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice.  Click here to learn more.
 
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™