A Luta Continuua
Amitiyah Elayne Hyman
September 19, 2004
When I listen to Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now” on WPFW, 89.3FM, I feel like the prophet Jeremiah. Prophets are people who want us to “get right with God”. Like the prophet Jeremiah, I feel sad, I feel sorrowful, and I feel sick inside….”my grief beyond healing, my heart sick within me.” Hearing about all of the murder and mayhem going on in the world in the name of FREEDOM and America’s vision of what’s best for Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Pakistan, Iran….makes me feel sad, sorrowful, sick inside. I had hoped that these wars would be over now. I had hoped that when the end of this summer of 2004 came, and the harvest was past, and all of the sweet succulent tomatoes and squash, the corn and beans had fallen, red swollen dripping to the ground…I had hoped that all would be well. I had hope that we could feel right with God by now. I had hoped that the world would be able to rest, the planet recover from the fevers of war and destruction. I had hoped that we would have, by now, saved the world as our President said we would.
Alas the world is not saved. Nor are we saved. A luta continua. The struggle continues. We are facing the coming of autumn, the Fall Equinox, in terror and turmoil. Hurricane and gale force winds wreak havoc on cities and shorelines, and we are not saved. Charlie, Frances, Ivan, and Jean drown and disable my hopes. Vacation plans and economic recovery predictions disappear in tsunami-like waves. We are not saved. Our healing rituals, our salves and balms provide band aid help, but salvation is nowhere to be found. We are not right, with God, we are not right with ourselves. There is a gap between the good we would do and the evil we live. The resinous gum of Gilead trees is no match for what ails us now. We who call ourselves Christian, the believers’ church, we speak softly and carry a small stick, a slim branch, a tattered pick. Even when we try our best, when we are most closely walking the straight and narrow way of God, yet do we fail. We are not perfect, we are spirit in human form. And so we struggle. For us salvation is a process, not a destination.
And so we are destined to struggle, continuously, in this election year. We are no match for the colossal pride in American culture that struts and swaggers in our land. Our way of life is incorrigible, recalcitrant, unrepentant and crude. Like the Prophet Jeremiah, who ran away from God himself, I feel sad, I feel sorrowful, and I feel sick inside.
But looking inward offers no relief, no respite. For, the struggle, a luta, continua. So, like people of faith of every generation I ask you to turn with me to the letter to Timothy. Here we find direction, hope for despair, help for the difficult times. Pray says the writer of Timothy. Pray prayers of supplication, intercession, and thanksgiving. Continue to pray. Prayer matters most. In the face of our powerlessness, our frustration, a small voiced resignation, let us pray together and let us pray apart. Pray for all people, pray for monarchs and all who are in high position. Pray that they may lead us in a quiet and peaceable life. Pray that they may become godly and respectful of every way. Pray for Saddam Hussein (depressed and incarcerated), pray for Osama bin Laden (on the run and in exile), pray for George Bush and Tony Blair (powerfully confused), and pray for both John’s (trailing and on the defensive) . Pray that they will get right with God. Pray that they will resist the impulse to circle the wagons in nationalistic fear and open themselves to the world. Pray that they may embrace a bold vision, full of awe and shock, a peaceful, peaceable world. Pray that the desires of God will become the desires of these rulers in power and out of power. God desires that all people be saved, that all will come to consciousness.
We pray not for one or two,
We pray not for a few.
We pray not for some.
We pray not for many.
We pray for all. Human and animal, vegetable and mineral. Water, earth, air, and fire We pray for faith, come alive.
We pray in fervent hope that God hears our prayers and bridges the gaps between the unsaved status of the world, the church, and the people of God. Dare we believe with the writer of Timothy that Jesus is the one who God did and does send to bridge the gaps? Dare we believe with the writer of Timothy that Jesus a Nazarene Jew, Mary’s boy, the carpenter’s kid, who lived and died two centuries ago is the one whose life is ransom for all life.
Dare we live into the belief that Jesus is ONE to save us all.
Jesus is not one for two.
Jesus is not one for a few.
Jesus is not one for some.
Jesus is not one for many.
JESUS IS ONE FOR ALL.
Dare we believe it? DO!
Webmaster : Brian C. Monsell
Sermon Archivist : Jorge Montalvo