The Bible is About Trauma...(Lenten Bible Reflection 2021--Ash Wednesday)

 I have been doing Margaret Feinberg's Awestruck Lenten Bible Challenge, for now, five or six years. She has laid out a reading plan that is intense, challenging in order to read the Bible from cover to cover over the season of Lent. The plan averages about 20-30 chapters a day for six days a week. The point of this plan is to develop deep awe and to see Scripture as deep metanarratives that are intertwined. Every year I have added a different challenge by reading a translation that I do not read regularly (in the past I have used: NLT, ESV, CEB, NASB, MEV). I also have found different concepts to focus on and think about. Last year it was justice...in the past it was worship...this year, the concept is TRAUMA. Why trauma? 

I am glad you asked.

The Bible is about trauma and trauma responses. I do justice work and I write about justice and striving against injustice. I spend a lot of time thinking about injustice and historic violence. What I have realized, an old memory, an old lesson: The violence and trauma (both individualized and vicarious) that is a necessary part of justice work can produce a tautological cycle of despair and hopelessness. This is what I am entering this exercise with. I am wrestling with trauma and the work that lies ahead. I am working to ensure life is better, more equitable for everyone especially for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color.

In order to do this...I must draw from the deep wells of my faith. For, Avadeem hayeenu, "We were once slaves." We are no longer slaves, but we are not yet free. I will close this reflection with words I wrote a year ago on FB: 

I believe every generation must answer the question, "What does it mean to be free?" (Borrowing from the great blues prophet, Nina Simone.)

In the past, the answer to that question drove our fight out of the terrible chains of slavery. It allowed us to stand in front of fire hoses. It encouraged our ancestors to thrive in the midst of deep lack and despair. We are the product of those beloved and unknown fighters. In this moment, in 2020 (2021), we are still not free. But, I feel that my expectations of what freedom is have changed, I believe freedom is nothing less than a clear trajectory to thriving. It includes access to [full] rights and privileges, but it is more than that. It is locating what Howard Thurman calls, "the final privacy of an individual" and developing that into an interconnected tapestry. Freedom is the acquisition and development of power for the benefit of dismantling systemically and systematically unjust systems and building up frameworks and systems that are equitable.

"From my childhood, I have been on the scent of the tie that binds life at a level so deep that the final privacy of the individual would be reinforced rather than threatened. I have always wanted to be me without making it difficult to be you."
Howard Thurman

Remember that you are but dust...but you matter...your tears matter...your traumas matter.

Random Insights from Facebook

These are insights that I have previously shared on Facebook, particularly centered around the Bible and justice.

March 26, 2017: The more I read the Bible in context the less I find a complementarian view of church leadership as the actual intent of God. Women are equal and capable to lead. A woman's voice saved many an idiot. The church will never be at its fullness until we recognize that God calls regardless.

March 10, 2017: In reading the Bible from cover to cover for Lent, I have reached a challenging conclusion about Christian Trump supporters.

They are like Jephthah, a very righteous and courageous judge of Israel. He was the son of a prostitute and he was elevated to be a warrior and a judge. He contended with the Ammonites for years and prayed to God about success. Instead of waiting for God, he vowed that in exchange for definitive success he would sacrifice as a blood offering the first thing that exited the door of his home. His only, virgin daughter was the first thing out of his door. His daughter heard his vow and begged him to let her grieve her virginity (but really her future). After two months, he sacrificed his daughter (the Bible is surprisingly nuanced, yet specific here). His reign was short and turbulent thereafter.

So, what does this mean? We cannot exchange long-term success for short-term gratification. This is what happened in November and we are living in the consequences of a dangerous vow. Often we frame our decisions merely by the bulk of their apparent sinfulness, when in reality, the sin lies in the clear refusal to see God in the consequences, to the point of using God to deny reality and thereby justify our choices.

(Judges 11-12)

February 9, 2016: 

Three sermons that I am in process of writing because God won't let me ignore them:

The Foundation of the Gospel Demands a Response: John 3 and 4

Justice and the Gospel (Why Justice Matters): Amos 5; Micah 6:8; Isaiah 58:5-14

The Gospel and Justice (Why the Gospel and Reconciliation Matters): 1st Peter 2:1-10; Revelation 7:9-17.

I have no idea when or if I will ever get to share them, but I am going to write them anyway.

Also, for Lent, I am taking up a challenge to read through the Bible in 40 days. If you wanna join up give me a holla. Blessings.

September 17, 2017: 

There are many myths about Christian Persecution in America. But, the one that gets my goat the most is: (Drumroll please) They took prayer out of schools.

I studied hundreds of First Amendment cases in my time in law school. None of them said you could not pray in school. What it does say is that the State should not be in the business of forcing students to recite a prewritten prayer led by their teacher. (Engel v. Vitale). This never stopped individual students from praying (Teachers are more complicated, I know, because of the dual nature of being an individual and a voice of the State).

I wrote the following nearly 5 years ago following the horrific responses of Christian leaders regarding Sandy Hook. It seems relevant now:

"I have had enough!! To these ignorant evangelical megalomaniacs: As a young Christian and an evangelical, theological mutt I am tired of the fake victimization from Western church leaders in power. It is absurd in the light of true persecution around the world. What do we give up in this country for our faith!? I have not had to give up that much and that I have had to, honestly, really was not worth my time. So, we are persecuted in America because we are called out when we are ignorant and unyielding.

I stand for righteousness, but I stand for and in love. My righteousness in Christ means nothing without love. Check the Gospel backwards and forwards. The Pharisees ticked Jesus off with their inability to operate in love. Empty religiosity and arrogant pomposity that ignored fleecing the poor in the very temple courts!! So Pat Robertson, Mike Huckabee, et al all of you that have lost touch with the heartbeat of the gospel, I plead with you, "Wake up and Study to be quiet!!" Prayer before speaking and wisdom and awareness are vital. We can't get away with continually speaking out of turn. Wear the mantle of a prophet, speak as a prophet but live and work like Christ. Kids did not die because we forgot God in schools, kids died for we forgot God in our homes we gloss over the least of these. So my message to you my brothers and sisters, let's be more Christ-like. Be blessed FB!!"

September 04, 2016: 

The Western (ultra-conservative) Church gets a lot wrong when comes to public life. Consequences that come from your behavior are generally not persecution. Persecution is strife that comes because of your faith or some other characteristic.

With that being said as a passionate Christian, that loves the Bible and loves even the hard sayings. I am disgusted by Kim Davis's behavior (and others). Her argument that issuing a marriage license (a core responsibility as the elected county clerk) to a homosexual couple violates her faith. When did the Bible ever say that the behavior of others dictated your salvation? The Bible does say to work out your own salvation. The Bible does say to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Her behavior smacks of religious insecurity. You took an oath to stamp the seal of the county of Rowan, Kentucky. If you had the true courage of your convictions you resign and you pray for the next step. Religious freedom does not mean one religion gets to dictate over others. To the contrary, to be Christ-like we serve those not like us and speak the truth in love.

My final soapbox point, wouldn't it be wonderful if the church divested from bad politics and invested in service? Demonstrated that pro-life extends far beyond gestation. That we stop majoring in the minor things and minoring in the major things. We care about souls. We care about the gift of salvation that is freely given to all that receives. God is less concerned about the state you come to him, but that you come.

October 21, 2012: 

Putting on a prophetic cap: If Christians cease to be the voice of the voiceless and the active hand of God in the world. What good are we? We are reduced to being the "crazies" that people think we are. We become the Pharisees, yeast-laden with religion but no true relationship. I read (and subsequently posted) a CNN blog about to some Christians President Obama is the "wrong" type of Christian. Begs the question what is the wrong type of Christian. I don't have an answer but I believe Christ and the Bible lays out a good model for the life of a Christian: Love God with all you are and Love your neighbor as yourself. "Truly he has shown you oh man what is Good: that you do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God". If we lose sight of that we are nothing more than a social club. Be blessed FB!

MLK Day in the Midst of the Age of Trump

King is more than a dream.

I sit here to write this forgetting that in my flurry of inspiration a couple of years ago, I had already written this piece about #ReclaimMLK (http://letterstoyoungworshippers.blogspot.com/2016/01/reflection-on-dr-king-in-era-of-post.html).

Dr. King, Jr. received his holiday fourteen years after his death and now thirty-two years ago. (We share a birth year in a way). I was furious back in 2016 (our last year with the first black president, even though I did not want to accept that fact). I was furious for so many valid reasons (Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have water and more officers have been acquitted or escaped charges.) I am still pissed about all those things. But, I am writing this the evening after our so-called president, 45, decided to call Haiti, African and African-Caribbean countries, “sh*tholes”. There is no more infuriating irony of this president, that he reveals his racism and racist political perspectives before key moments of black remembrance (see his comments about Frederick Douglass), the damn inescapable fact that 45 is going to stand and lay claim to the dream of King. He's going to lay his grubby, "sh*thole" hands on King's legacy. But, not only him, senators, representatives, governors, mayors, DA's are going to join in this bastard's chorus about the dream of King as they work to undermine black people's progress (But see, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-alford-kansas-marijuana-black-people_us_5a53e133e4b01e1a4b18a12b?section=us_black-voices).

I want our King back!! You can't claim Martin or Fannie Lou or Rosa or Ella or Billie or none of them until you see us as fully human and fully American!!

The third Monday of January, we set about remembering Dr. King, the drum major of a movement. But, let me tell you this, King was not the only one in the band for justice. He stood on the shoulders of a long legacy of men and women who bled, cried, died, were kidnapped, bombed, broken, beaten, sprayed with water hoses, lynched and so much more. King’s shadow is long and broad. His blood still cries out from the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis and still shakes the mantle of time nearly fifty years.

So, what do I have to say now? I am glad you asked. First, if you support the theology of Trump (looking at you all you charlatans of the gospel), you do not get to hold the legacy of MLK. If you support a theology that doesn't demand your own death to self for the cause of justice you CANNOT touch the legacy of MLK and our ancestors. This bodes the question, “What am I willing to do in this era to move the dream forward?” My answer is this, I am committed to radical compassion. Compassion places a target on your back because you are willing to take the hit for someone else. It is deeper than empathy...it is letting your heart break for someone else and then stepping up to do something.

King said it this way, “I choose to identify (yes, King had a choice—he was middle-class as a child) with the underprivileged, I choose to identify with the poor, I choose to give my life of the hungry, I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. […] This is the way I’m going. If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means sacrificing, I’m going that way. If it means dying for them, I’m going that way, because I heard a voice saying, “Do something for others.”

Second, I am committed the work. I am committed to digging into the chaos to fight of justice. I am committed to consolidating political power of black people and other people of color. I am committed to coalition building. Practically, from using the explosive event of the Black Panther premiere to register people to vote to elevate fresh and new candidates. This is the best birthday gift I can give to King on his 89^th birthday. I am on the quest for justice and righteousness and “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired.”

I am going to close with the words of Paul (2^nd Corinthians 4:7-18):

⁷ Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power^g may be from God and not from us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; ⁹ we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry the death of Jesus^h in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to deathⁱ for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. ¹³ And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,^B,j we also believe, and therefore speak. ¹⁴ For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus^k and present us with you. ¹⁵ Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving^l to increase to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not give up.^m Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner personⁿ is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our momentary light affliction^o is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.^p 18 So we do not focus on what is seen,^q but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Don’t give up, Don’t give in, Don’t stop dreaming the dream, your dream.

Ernest

Reflection on Dr. King in the Era of Post-Racialism

Dr. King died eighteen years before I was born. My mother was seventeen when he was murdered. Now I sit at my computer on the thirtieth anniversary of the declaration of his federal holiday, in deep conflict about the legacy of the movement.
My conflict is rooted in angst about the willingness to be satisfied with a myth of equality. That it appears that much of the "gains" made in the Civil Rights Movement are being traded for oligarchical shortsighted efforts. That hell, there are two cities in the US in the same state being poisoned intentionally for no real apparent reason. That the prison industrial complex has tripled since 1970. That young black men and women are dying without justice at the hands of bad policing and a justice system designed against them. That success for people of color does not mean that the needle has moved on meter of justice. The scales remain out of balance. So I am not happy or satisfied. I refuse to believe that King's Dream is anyways close to being fulfilled. (The dream was bigger than hypothetical equality. The hypothetical cannot be achieved without the practical. The practical in the eyes of Dr. King was rooted in the economy and in justice. That post-slavery dismissal from the economy only served to empower Jim Crow.)
Many people reduce the legacy of Dr. King to a sermonic tag at the end of the keynote of the March on Washington in 1963. They connect with him saying, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. […] And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" This promotion of the “dream of Dr. King” generally ignores the actual thrust of Dr. King’s Speech and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The March challenged the role of racism in increased levels of unemployment among Black Americans and the poor. The language of the speech is a harsh and unyielding critique of racism in America. Failing to acknowledge the righteous anger and frustration that those who are oppressed remains a major critique of even the most positive and well-intentioned forms of colorblindness.

So this leaves us to why there is a need to #ReclaimMLK. Unlike Malcolm X or Marcus Garvey, King's message was open for everyone. That in King's vision race is only a factor in the systemic inequity that is America. That it could be claimed by anyone who can perceive to be marginalized. But, you cannot claim marginalization and be part of the perpetuation of marginalization. You cannot claim King and sit on the sidelines and reject the complexity of his legacy. King called America to deeper depths. He challenged our religiosity. He pushed those who sat in judgment to actually practice empathy. We need that same voice now. We need voices pushing the church forward in justice. To reject the overrated nature of social media and viral presence. This what the legacy of Dr. King has to be in this era. That he called Blacks and Whites to the mat.

First, in order to survive this pseudo-post-racial world, the disenfranchised must know who they are. This is not just about cultural acceptance, but knowing where they stand in this society. It is about knowing the rules of the game. The paradigm in the colorblind world is both static and a moving target. It is static because those standing frameworks of identity remain. But, it is a moving target because success can be attained (for a price). The narrative of racism in America is not binary and is very complicated. Knowing this fact, one can maintain hope. Second, despite the barriers, despite the apparent increasing dangers, the bank of justice is not empty. There has been a legacy of fighting for freedom and justice. The context is that as Dr. King said in 1963, the founding creeds of this nation were a "check marked insufficient funds".

Dr. King, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, countless others believed firmly that the bank of justice is not empty and will not give up fighting for rights that belong to me and my legacy. This country's tenuous relationship with race and poverty chains it to the past. 

This state of awareness is what Touré describes as “post-blackness. Post-blackness shifts the focus from a fight for retribution for past harms to obtaining seats at the table of power. He closes his book, Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? with these words: “We don’t gain from rejecting America before it rejects us and from shunning voting and education. We progress by getting as much education as we can and launching ourselves into corporations and entrepreneurialism and politics and finance and real estate. We need more and more Blacks sitting at tables of real power. Let’s be like Barack. Let’s get what we want from America in spite of racism. Let’s buy into the promise of America and get what we deserve. Let’s come home. You can fight the power, but I want us to be the power.^”

Progressing up the ladders of success in multiple areas that are stereotypically outside of the reach of minorities is the proper attack against color-blind racism. The pain that we will endure will be very real, but it alone cannot be the sole focus. The cry for retribution has appeared to fall on increasingly deaf ears, so we need to gather political capital to change the system.

It needs to be noted as I close, that just as power has continually adapted throughout history to maintain its control, power will try to reject and marginalize the mobilization of resources. As we continue to speak the truth about racism and racial harm, powers response will often to revert to name calling and misdirection. It must be remembered that color-blind racism is built on a myth, “the idea that race has all but disappeared as a factor shaping the life chances of all Americans. This myth is the central column supporting the house of color blindness. Remove this column and the house will collapse. (Racism Without Racists, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva)^” The truth of the matter remains that colorblindness unchecked is as dangerous as the emperor with no clothes. Just as the young boy that exclaimed the truth; the most powerful tool that we have to contend in this crazy world is the truth.

May the King Live Forever!! Blessings!!

Ernest