2 Corinthians 3:16-18 The Message “Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
How are you my brothers and sisters? My soul and spirit are on fire! This past weekend we celebrated Juneteenth and Father’s Day! I had a wonderful weekend in Blackness! I proudly wore a tee shirt which said “Juneteenth – I’m Black every day, but today I’m Blackity, Black, Black, Black” along with the bracelet I wear everyday “I love being Black!” Know that I love being Black because I have learned how to make a way out of no way, be resilient, preserve, love, care, come from greatness, and never give up! I attended 4 events which were impactful and insightful. The events centered me and reinforced once again my why I do what I do! It was good being with the people! The work is about helping God’s people especially Black and Brown people have better lives through transformation and change. It is about using what God have gifted me with to make a difference and use the access to provide resources to lift my brothers and sisters! Know that we are free! In the lyrics from Tasha Cobbs lyrics “Break Every Chain” she shares with us “there is power in the name of Jesus and there’s an army rising up to break every chain!” She closes the song singing “I hear the chains falling!” I closed my weekend by watching the movie, Selma! Though I have seen this movie at least 3 times, I’m still shaken to my very core when the church is bombed! I asked myself what is different between the 60’s in Selma and in our country and today! Let’s be honest…nothing but the style of clothes, the furniture, and automobiles driven! We are still fighting for voter rights, still dealing with hatred, still being denied access, still not being valued for what we bring to the table, and this list goes on! Many who may read will say there has been progress, but I beg to differ! Violence is running through our communities like water! Communities are being destroyed!
The heat of summer is here! It was shared with me there were 18 shootings on Father’s Day! Put the guns down! What happened to the good old fashion fist fight??? This shows my age! But I must say, we settled the difference, and we were back to being friends the next day! When does the violence stop? It stops when equity and access for the least of us and those marginalized by oppressive systems is achieved. That is, voting rights, jobs, health care, education, housing, food to name a few! Not for some of us but all of us! This is where those of us who can need to bring your time, talent, and treasures to create the change we want to see. That is, being our brothers and sister’s keeper, rebuilding our communities. We need to once again use our churches as anchor institutions as so very well leveraged in the Civil rights movement and in the movie Selma. We can and some are rebuilding our business ecosystems, making sure everyone is contributing, nurturing, and growing our children, and I can go on, but I think you get it! We don’t need “saviors” coming to tell us what we need. We need to do for ourselves with help from those who want to affect and create positive change. Don’t tell us what we need but work with us! Though the origin is contested, we must not simply “Give a man/woman a fish, and feed him/her for a day.” We must “teach that man/woman to fish, and feed him/her for a lifetime.” No one is looking for charity! We want equity!
As you know this is #StuffValSaid, but what do you say? What are doing to contribute to the freedom and well-being of others? How are you working to create equity? How are you “breaking chains” so we can all be free?
Let’s get to work as our ancestors taught us for the greater good! As said in Swahili, Ashay…” Be with us!!!” I love and honor you!!! Ubuntu “I am, because you are.”
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