Living in Between: During These Days of Advent, Lord, Lead Us

On this special day of the Advent season, I am pondering “living in between.” We are living within several “in betweens.” We live in between creation and the ultimate redemption. We are living in between now and the coming of the Christ child. We are living in between normalcy and the return to normalcy, if there is to be such a thing. We are living in between what we recall about the politics of our land from years gone by, yearning for a return to civility amongst us all.

Some of God’s children live with a strong eye toward the end times. Some even say that the madness of the world includes multiple signs that we are living in the end times. If we read the book of 2 Peter, then perhaps we can realize that we have always lived in the end times. The living part just gets stretched out.

If indeed we are living in between, especially in between now and the coming of the Christ child, how would the Holy One of Israel have us live? Live and do what? Live and think what? Live and reflect upon what? Live and dream of what?

Living in between for me means making some noise about mistreatment of Black farmers across our land. Toward that end, we write, make calls, and advocate in a wide range of ways. Advocacy toward congressionals is one. For instance, two bills are making their way through the Senate and the House. The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2023 has once again been submitted by Senators Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock. Some people hold these men in derision, but tor me and my house, we honor and respect them because they have their hearts in the right place. That place is recovery of the Black farmer from decades after decades of discrimination, heart break, and land loss. Another bill has been written that will provide accountability with the confines of the sacred halls of the USDA. Representative Jackson from Illinois understands the challenges of farming while Black in America against all odds. That bill entitled, "Just USDA Standards and Transparency Act of 2023" holds much promise. 

So, this morning in the spirit of Advent, and in the reality of living in between now and when the Christ child is born, and in that in between space of when the Bill will be signed into law, I offer this prayer. For those of us who do pray, please feel free to join me. 

Lord, lead me to see people who will vote for or against these bills, those who are concerned about history of discrimination and those for whom it is a non-entity.

Lord, lead us to understand the depth of the pain of those families who struggled and lost their farms, and those who are living in fear that even now, they just might lose their farms.

Lord, lead me to a greater sensitivity of what it means to be Black in America.

Lord, lead us to a great sensitivity of what it means to be a Black farmer in America.

Lord, lead me to see the log in my own eye before I point out the speck of racism in the eye of another.

Lord, lead us to be instruments of peace in a polarized world and to reach across whatever isles are created.

Lord, lead me to see the humanity and goodness in people with whom I have many philosophical and theological differences.

Lord, lead us to speak with courage in these perilous days, and to back up that speech with action.

Lord, bring forth hope upon our land that we may live and celebrate as a united people.

Lord, bring forth honesty and faith and resilience to all people so that we can live in harmony with one another.

Lord, prompt all of us to see the coming of the Christ child as a pivotal moment to grab hold of hope.

Lord, prompt the season of the year to bring about all manner of acts of kindness and generosity upon all of us.

Lord, prompt us to respect all of your children, every color, dark or light, because we are all precious in your sight.

Praying in This In-Between Place and Space

In this peculiar day of the Advent season, I am pondering “living in between.” We are living within several “in betweens.” We live in between creation and the ultimate redemption. We are living in between now and the coming of the Christ child. We are living in between normalcy and the return to normalcy, if there is to be such a thing.

Some of God’s children live with a strong eye toward the end times. Some even say that the madness of the world includes multiple signs that we are living in the end times. If we read the book of 2 Peter, then perhaps we can realize that we have always lived in the end times. The living part just gets stretched out.

If indeed we are living in between, especially in between now and the coming of the Christ child, how would the Holy One of Israel have us live? Live and do what? Live and think what? Live and reflect upon what? Live and dream of what?

The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020 was submitted earlier this week by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Some people are huge fans of Senator Booker and some are repelled by his name. For me and my house, we honor and respect him because he has his heart in the right place. That place is recovery of the Black farmer from decades after decades of discrimination, heart break, and land loss.

So, this morning in the spirit of Advent, and in the reality of living in between now and when the Christ child is born, and in that in between space of when the Bill will be signed into law, I offer this pray:

Lord, lead me to see people who will vote for or against this bill, those who are about history of discrimination and those for whom it is a non-entity.

Lord, lead us to understand the depth of the pain of those families who struggled and lost their farms, and those who are living in fear that even now, they just might lose their farms.

Lord, lead me to a greater sensitivity of what it means to be Black in America.

Lord, lead us to a great sensitivity of what it means to be a Black farmer in America.

Lord, lead me to see the log in my own eye before I point out the speck of racism in the eye of another.

Lord, lead us to be instruments of peace in a polarized world and to reach across whatever isles are created.

Lord, lead me to see the humanity and goodness in people with whom I have many philosophical and theological differences.

Lord, lead us to speak with courage in these perilous days, and to back up that speech with action.

Lord, bring forth hope upon our land that we may live and celebrate as a united people.

Lord, bring forth honesty and faith and resilience to all people so that we can live in harmony with one another.

Lord, prompt all of us to see the coming of the Christ child as a pivotal moment to grab hold of hope.

Lord, prompt the season of the year to bring about all manner of acts of kindness and generosity upon all of us.

Lord, prompt us to respect all of your children, every color, dark or light, because we are all precious in your sight.

Prophets Come Wearing T-Shirts and Masks

Dear Lord:

I have a lot to learn. 

I have a lot to discern. 

I have many a thought to share. 

I have many a burden to bear.

So, please hear my yearnings. 

Please listen to my longings. 

Please consider my mental wanderings. 

Please find me under your wing pondering.

So, please if you will. 

Please comfort and my heart to still. 

Please guide me in the better way. 

Please lead me into the light of day.  

That I your face may see. 

That you may offer grace to me. 

That we may behold the lamb of God. 

While upon this land we trod.

Did the prophets receive pushback from their prophetic utterings? Is it true that shalom existed in the garden and that we messed it up? Is it true that we yearn for shalom and that it won’t be delivered until your face we see?

Is it true that prayer is a glance toward heaven? A yearning of the heart? A moment of joy in the midst of trials and tribulation?

Are there prophets upon this land? Do they come wearing masks and t-shirts that say, “Black Lives Matter,” “No Justice No Peace,” “Act Justly Love Mercy Walk Humbly?” Do they come chanting, marching, protesting? Are there people on the sides of the streets hurling curses upon them with ugly words and taunts of injury or ill will?

I think so.

Give me courage to speak the truth even when it is not well received. Give me wisdom and understanding to grasp how best to live and speak and love and hope and pray and wonder and wander and ponder and pray and pray and pray.

Amen

Jesus, Over Here If You Please

Jesus, over here if you please

You’ll find me on bended knees

Just as I am without one plea

You gave it all for them and for me.

You whose love is shown in death

The five deep wounds and your final breath

Into my torn heart and tattered mind

My soul I hope you seek and find.

What do you think of this world gone mad

Does it make you angry or bitterly sad

To see your children beaten and battered

Torn asunder like they never truly mattered.

We’re making a lot of noise

About the color of your skin

Looks like we could spend more time

On the depth of our own original sin.

It does make a difference I dare say

And maybe it’ll help us live another day

To know that you were born with deep brown skin

Can my white people let that truth sink in.

If it can and if it does and if it will

How will you respond and how will you feel

About the blight that is found upon our land

When we find all manner of hills upon which to stand.

We scream and we scream and we scream

Those monuments they need to fall

As if they tell the truth of all it does seem

Until we hear that ultimate final call.

The call for justice and righteousness to all

The words of Micah may they ring through the halls

Of houses and places of worship and congress too

Until all of your children show love long overdue.

Prayers and Anxieties: Who Answers

Prayers and Anxieties: Who Answers
Waymon Hinson
May 12, 2020

When do I pray

I hear you say

Have I given my cares to God today

Upon His shoulders will they weigh.

We make it simple when we say

“Give it up to God”

Until our times have ended

When we lay beneath the sod.

Some of us pray

At all manner of times throughout the day

As we pray without ceasing along the way

We supposedly pray we say.

“Cast” you tell me in a word

And I would if I knew how

They keep flying back like a bird

Not really sure if I could that thing vow.

She the farmer’s wife stood in the door

Stepping into Auntie’s house

A woman and her spouse both with unchecked stress

And he who limps across the floor.

Did they not pray

And look for a brighter day

And long into the night she stood

Waiting for cops to come in all likelihood.

Maybe my whole load of fears

Are lumped into those prayers

By the sweet, sweet Spirit

When I cannot find the words to speak my cares.

But, don’t patronize me with words

And thus deny my humanity

And I’ll walk beside you if you’ll listen

And we’ll build a faith though at times with profanity.

I don’t do well with platitudes

Things easy to say and do

They challenge my internal attitudes

Though they may just work for you.

I’ll lean for sure into some of that

My worries may just form my prayers

I won’t always have the words

When God and I stop and chat.

On A Frigid Day in Covington, Kentucky

There is no doubt that you and I both have been caught up in the drama in Washington, DC of late. No, not with the president* or the government shut down, but with the one with the Native American gentleman beating his drum and singing while the young man with the MAGA hat stood amidst his own peers, many of whom were also wearing the red hat. We all know how these things roll.  A perspective is built, images are shown, videos are shown, and the truth, if we can ever completely attain it, rolls before us day after day after day.

For those of us who do systems oriented therapy, we know about this thing called "punctuation," or exactly how an interaction begins, what is next prompted, and what is next prompted, and so on. We punctuate relational matters in a similar way that we punctuate sentences. 

There was a lot of craziness going on that day with adults and kids. 

A few days later, a group of folks protested in Covington, Kentucky, and a friend of mine was there to chronicle it via her photography. I also asked her to describe what she saw and experienced. Here are the words and photography of Heather Hicks. I am grateful for her and her heart, and for her willingness to tell that story here. 

It was frigid but that didn’t stop a group of us from driving to Covington, Kentucky to stand along side Native Americans who were deeply hurt and alarmed by the way one of their honored elders, Nathan Phillips, was disgracefully treated and mocked recently in DC.  Some drove from States away.  It was a protest, one ordered by Native American leaders to be peaceful.  The protest was an outcry to end racism. It was also to demand that Covington Catholic change some things in their school culture to foster young men who would value diversity and have a better knowledge of Native American culture and history.  They required that Covington Catholic offer classes that teach what racism is and how to respect and value diversity.

The ratio of news reporters and journalists just about matched the number of peaceful protesters.  Several Native American speakers spoke, sharing their inspiring thoughts and concerns with us.  They spoke of wanting to build bridges across the cultural and economic divides.  One man shared how they were saddened that Covington Catholic felt the need to close the school on the day of protest for fear of violence.  He said if you knew and understood Native American people you would know that we are a people of peace.

While we were listening to the speakers, cars would drive by blaring their horns to disrupt the speakers. One car stopped in front of the crowd and kept blaring their horn until a police officer finally made them move on.  A van drove by with “Fake News Enemy of the People” written on it.  Another car drove by and someone shouted from it, “That school breeds white supremacists!”  There were ANTIFA members present. They were not there to create chaos but for protection.  They even brought a medic with them.  I wonder if they were peaceful to respect the wishes of the Native American leaders?

The history of the sacred peace prayer that elder Philips sang was shared with us.  How for hundreds of years Native American leaders have been inserting themselves between waring groups with the singing of the prayer to promote peace and to deescalate volatile situations. They led the song as we began our short trek to the Catholic basilica of Covington to call for a meeting with the Covington Catholic Diocese.  The Native American leaders wanted this to be the first of many meetings to talk about building peace and respect for each other.  As we came around the corner we saw a man standing at the top of the steps, in front of the basilica doors praying with a rosary in his hands.  The Native American leaders stopped at the bottom of the steps and finished the prayer song.  LaFramboise, one of the leaders asked the man if he could pray with and for him.  The man was reluctant at first but then he agreed.  LaFramboise held his hand as he prayed for him.  I wish I had recorded that prayer.  It was a very touching moment. A non Native American woman next to me had tears rolling down her cheeks.  I gave her a hug and then a journalist asked her what caused her tears.  I wish I heard what she responded. I do know that I saw her give a hug to almost every Native American there. 

           

A few school boys from Covington Catholic showed up but they stayed across the street from us.  They were quiet but wanted their presence to be known.  A few counter protesters stood with them, some of them dressed like the stereotypical alt-right people. 

A man, who was in support of the Covington boys came to talk to some of we protesters, trying to stir up some trouble.  I was impressed with how some of the ANTIFA members handled him.  Instead of getting all defensive with him like I wanted to, they had a conversation with him and respectfully shared how entrenched racism is in our country and how even they personally have to work on changing their own racist views.  At one point the man trying to stir up trouble said, “You know, we just need to all get along.  We would all get a long so much better if you didn’t use the words racist or racism.”

Sadly, the Covington Catholic Diocese refused to meet with the Native American leaders.  The leaders promised to keep coming back to the Diocese until the they were able to have the talks they longed for. ---- Heather Malaika Hicks

I Want to Be Amazed

Dear Lord:

I want to be amazed

I want to be shocked

I want to be stunned

Right from the start.

I want to stand wordless

I want to stand in awe

I want to feel overwhelmed

With what I just saw.

I want to be amazed

At acts of love

I want to be amazed

At justice found

I want to be amazed

At kindness from above

I want to be amazed

At simple things profound.

I want to be amazed

At kindness across the isle

I want to be amazed

At fidelity to your story

I want to be amazed

When the powerful hug a child

I want to be amazed

When we stand before your glory.

I want to be amazed

When stories of racism make us weep

I want to be amazed

When political views and love emerge

I want to be amazed

When the strong lift the weak

I want to be amazed

When repentance is in an upsurge.

I want to be amazed

When all of us are really equal

I want to be amazed

When LGBTQ people are fully embraced

I want to be amazed

When long after we’re gone, our stories demand a sequel

I want to be amazed

When with compassion our lives are traced.

I want to be amazed

When vitriol resides less and less in the public sphere

I want to be amazed

When monuments glorifying wrongs are no longer here. 

I want to be amazed
When we care for asylum seekers
I want to be amazed
When we see in their children brighter futures. 

I want to be amazed
When my granddaughters are honored for their gifts
I want to be amazed
When church does not leave women adrift. 

I want to be amazed

When people of color feel no fear

I want to be amazed

When the homeless are no more

I want to be amazed

When Jesus returns

I want to be amazed

When justice fills our core

I want to be amazed

Long before Jesus returns

I want to be amazed

When compassion within us burns

I want to be amazed

I want to be amazed

Yes, I want to stand amazed

I want to sit amazed

I want to walk amazed

I want to bow amazed

I want to weep amazed

I want to be amazed

Unholy Mess We Are

Dear Lord,

I’d like to chat with you,

If you have the time

For some things are on my mind,

And you are the right one to talk to.

My prayers to you come out as a lament

While friends of mine seem pretty thrilled

To see those actions and their hopes fulfilled

While me and mine just feel pretty spent.

We are an unholy mess

As I look around at this place

And I hang my head in disgrace

But I love this place I must confess.

Jewish people slaughtered when they met

Worship on their minds and hearts

They unknowingly would depart

Before that holy day would set.

Guy with a gun sought entrance into a church

Door was locked to the black church so he gunned down

Two black people while making very little sound

Except that gun burping away leaving us all in an unholy lurch.

And then that killer down in the south

Made all those bombs and sent them out

To people who’d been attacked by the one running about

Spewing hatred from his wide-open mouth.

Still people coming up from other places

Looking for asylum from pain and destruction

Hope in their hearts and their fear of abduction

Walking the long path with weary worn faces.

While still a thousand long miles from here

The man in the White House sends military down to the border

Just a week from the election, no small order

But we know what is behind his very thin veneer.

It’s all a big unholy political stunt

To arouse his base and inflame the fury

Of people of his ilk will not face any jury

While we worry and pray and bear the brunt.

Some of us keep on hoping and praying

That the man with the power will see his wrongs

Repent of his narcissism but we’ve waited too long

To see any hope of change, you know what I’m saying.

Compassion is lost across this fertile land

Incivility reigns and is seen all day and night

Just watch FOX NEWS, CNN, or MSNBC for the sight

Of people hurting people and kindness banned.

We have chosen up sides to the left and the right

And some in the middle cling to hope

That some ray of sensibilities will help us cope

When our long, long days turned into the night of nights.

We’re going to polls in large numbers as we pray

Then election day is here for all of us to anticipate

That change will come that we can all create

With our children in mind and work for a brighter day.

Lord,

I know that you hear

And that you are near

Though you are above the fray

And that is why we hope and pray.

Amen

Dear Lord Friday It Is

Dear Lord:

Friday it is

And I’m feeling tired

Been a long week

And in this life I’m mired.

Got my wife,

Got my dog

Got my home

Livin’ high on the hog.

Love my kids

My own

My grands

Lovin’ some of those seeds we’ve sown.

My body’s feelin’ good

Most of my days

Some days though

I walk through a haze.

This world is not my home

A lot of folks sing

I kind of like it here

But let freedom ring.

Some of us are free

Some of us are not

Some live on a shoestring

‘bout all they got.

Folks like me

With skin that’s white

Feel more power

And that’s not right.

Jesus taught us

To love one another

That woman over there

Is someone’s mother.

Judge not

Based on the color of the skin

Let’s get it right

And do this again.

In the eyes of God

The One who made us all

All are worthy

And no one’s small.

Treat people with respect

Is that so hard to do

Gotta get it right

Before we’re through.

There’s hope I feel

When I see the young

Caring for each other

Like a new day sprung.

Jim Crow’s gone

It got voted out

Still in those hearts

Makes us want to shout.

The young of the land

Seem to get it right

Respect and equality

They’re livin’ in the light.

Thanks very much

For showing us the way

For those of us who are older

Can see a brand new day.

Amen