7^th Week after Pentecost:

Put away violence and oppression.

(Ezekiel 45:9)

  

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, Anna joined in a Black Lives Matter march. Her mother told her that her grandparents, that’s us, had joined in a civil rights march at the death of Martin Luther King. I’d forgotten; or, almost forgotten. It happened the Sunday after his assassination when we attended Grace Cathedral. After the worship service, we marched with the congregation through the streets of San Francisco to demonstrate our solidarity with MLK and the civil rights movement he lead.

Anna and our current turmoil has put me into a secular (if there is such a thing) reading spree: Kissinger by Barry Gewen in an attempt to review that tragic war that so divided us; White Fragility to understand what is meant by systemic racism; and, a surprise wonder of  a book, Our Declaration, by Danielle Allen.

Danielle Allen, an African American woman, reminded me of why we marched—not out of anger, but out of deep respect for our founding document: “That all are created equal.”  And, Martin Luther King, being a pastor, insisted we march non-violently: “When Jesus was abused, he did not return abuse, nor did he threaten” (1Pt 2:23). The way of the Cross brought about the greatest revolution the world has ever known. Who would of thought?