June 10, 2020
For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. (Luke 8:17) We are living in the truth of these words. More descriptive translations of the Greek, underlined above, are "made manifest" and "publicly known." Nothing is hidden that will not become publicly known. There is no hiding anymore for acts of aggression by law enforcement against the innocent. Crowds are thick. Cameras are out. The images they capture are suddenly everywhere. The sheer inhumanity of these acts burns them into our brains, from a black man whose life is slowly crushed out of him to an elderly white peace activist sent crashing to the pavement for no apparent reason (OK - 75 is not "elderly") while the battalion of police in bulletproof vests moves slowly past, heartlessly ignoring the badly injured man. America witnesses it all, and now the pope has spoken out. "We cannot close our eyes to any form of racism or exclusion, while pretending to defend the sacredness of every human life." Pretending. He said it. We are witnessing the march of God's justice astonishingly accelerated during a worldwide pandemic. Talk about shift: Whereas a few weeks ago our cry "How long, O Lord?" (Psalm 13) addressed our condition of social isolation, now it is a cry for the fullness of life God that desires for each human being--for each living thing that is the marvelous, miraculous work of God's own creative self. Jesus' words in Luke 8 are really coming from the opposite perspective. He is addressing the manifestation of hidden forces that are work to make God's kingdom a reality, specifically the lighted lamp that had been concealed under a jar. Before the light can be revealed, though, the force that had kept it hidden (the jar) must be acknowledged. The jar in our midst is the dark web of attitudes and practices that has protected acts of racism and inhumanity from public scrutiny. This is in the process of being lifted. Let's keep the radiant light underneath, the promise of peace to which Martin Gugino continues to devote his life, always before our eyes. In the conviction Christian hope, Pastor Nancy Raabe
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