Third TIme a Charm?

I am admitting right up front here that I am bad at creating new habits, I start out great and then things inevitably fall by the wayside, never to return. This is the 3rd time I have tried to get this blog going and who knows, maybe the third time IS a charm and this will work. If not, it will be one more attempt to resurrect something from the ash heap of time that failed to produce fruit.

My last attempt at this was waaaaay back in 2014. Six years ago. I had just barely started seminary (and I am still in seminary), there was a whole lot going on, and life was pretty Chaotic. Still is. Who would have figured that one!

So, what is happening now? Glad you asked (even though it was really me who asked), because a lot is going on. We are finally a 2 vehicle household, having purchased a truck and a car last year from a co-worker. We are without a dog, although our grand daughter is living with us and with her came her dog, so that is a good thing (Except that he can be a little ornery at times). Still working daily at the University of Arizona, still attending Lexington Theological Seminary, and still trying to have a life in the process. So, where will this all go? Who knows. Stay Tuned.... This could last a day,two days OR it could become an enduring habit and be. I'll leave this here for the time and will get back with you tomorrow???

90 Seconds

90 Seconds

Following the release of the ‘evidence’ in the shooting death of Michael Brown, one startling fact emerges: it was 90 seconds from the time Officer Wilson called in the initial contact with Brown over the radio, to Michael Brown, Jr lying dead in the street.  In 90 seconds, a life was taken, in 90 seconds a country was changed. 

90 seconds is all it took for one man to become judge and jury. 90 seconds was all it took to take 51 years of work to combat racism in America and throw it back to where it all began. 90 seconds is all it took to let us know that America has been changed forever, and not for the better. 

No longer are the rules of law for all people. If you are African-American, Hispanic, or anything but white, you are condemned to the margins of society, thrown in jail, or executed by law enforcement, no trial necessary, it is a fact of life. We have had over two months pass between the murder of Michael Brown and yesterday’s grand jury decision and testimony release. Two months where laws for use of force could have been changed. Two months where police procedures could have been revised and trainings held, so that the dark nights of August would not be repeated on a cold November evening- in the light of flames and destruction. Two months where meaningful and constructive reform could have happened, yet none did. 

Martin Luther King, Jr, hoped for the day where a person could "not be judged on the color of their skin but by the content of their character"; sadly, we are still hoping for that day. Martin Luther King, Jr., hoped for a nonviolent end to struggle for civil rights, yet 51 years of inaction, police brutality, unfair judicial systems, and systemic racism have robbed people of their hope and left them with little alternatives but to cry out and to lash out. Cry out in pain, cry out in despair, and lash out in violence. 

MLK understood how a people feeling lost and in despair could resort to violence; but it was not the way he chose to address the injustices facing African Americans. Nonviolence is ultimately the right answer, but when a nonviolent plea for action and nonviolent voices for change are blocked by a system that is set up to perpetuate the status quo, how can we sit here and condemn the rioters for their actions? It is we who must take the blame for last night’s events in Ferguson, Mo., because we have failed. Because of our inaction, we failed Martin Luther King, Jr, and we have failed Michael Brown, Jr.  

We need for people of faith to stand with our brothers and sisters from the African American community and call for, no—demand, meaningful change; to demand meaningful action. Time has passed- 51years of time- to talk about these issues; when will positive action take the place of talk? How many more bodies, young and old, black and brown, need to be removed from our streets before all voices are heard and respected, invited to the table, and unjust laws are changed? How many more mothers must visit their children in jail and how many more funerals of young children must take place before we remove the stain of racism from our discourse and embrace all children as beloved children of God that they are? 

We need to hear again those words of MLK: to have "justice roll down like waters"... for the "valleys to be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low." We need to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the legacy of Michael Brown, Jr.  90 seconds is not a very long time, yet so much happened in those few seconds that we cannot run away from. 90 seconds was all it took to hold up a mirror to the face of America and see the wounds that still scar us. 90 seconds is enough time for all of us to say, enough. 90 seconds should be the catalyst that begins our time of healing and more importantly, change.  Darren Wilson may go free, but Michael Brown’s death should not be in vain. 90 seconds.