Author: lakewooducc

Lynching Revisited

Several days ago, I wrote about the poem and song, “Strange Fruit” which describes lynchings in the southern United States. I have recently read Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Café Society, and An Early Cry for Civil Rights by David Margolick written in 2000. That propelled me to YouTube to watch videos of the song performed by various artists starting with Billie Holiday. Yes, her performance is emotionally wrenching to watch as are the renditions of the song by Nina Simone and other African American artists.

Then I noticed a more recent performance, 2013, by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa. These people are white. Hm. What would that be like? I was skeptical. I watched the video. And I watched it again. And again. The vocals. The guitar. Haunting? Breathtaking? Tortured beauty? It’s hard to describe.  You can watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qf_aytrlpQ

That performance led me to new thoughts about lynching. Yes, it is horrific to think about what it was like for black people to be the victims of such heinous evil. Again, hard to find human language to talk about something so inhumane. I am white. Can I say I am grateful that I am not black and was not subject to that depravity?

But watching the Hart/Bonamassa video stirred a different perspective within me. Here were these white people putting on such an authentic, pained, gut-wrenching performance. Maybe it is better to be black, to be associated with the victim rather than the perpetrator of such horror. Maybe it is worse to be white and to know that people of your kind did this, lynched people, hung them from a tree. With no semblance of justice involved. Can some say I’m grateful that I’m not white and not associated with behaving with such depravity?

We revisit this topic today, the 104th anniversary of the lynching of John Evans who was lynched in St. Petersburg near MLKing St. and 2nd Ave. S. by a mob of 1500 white people.

Can we be grateful? White and black? Can we be grateful that such a horror would not happen in St. Petersburg today? Can we be grateful that we are making progress in confronting racism? We have not come far enough. There is still a long way to go. But I am grateful that the majority of our society wants to end racism in the United States.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Veterans Day

This is a difficult day.  It’s a day to remember all of the suffering and sacrifice of those who have served in the military.  Yes, it is good to thank our veterans and remember their honorable service to our country.  But it is also a day of conflicted perspectives and feelings for me.

Jesus was adamantly anti violent.  He was a pacifist.  Thus he was against armed conflict and war.  So as followers of Jesus, we, too, are to be against war and violence of every kind.  

So to me it feels like there is a tension between the commitment to following Jesus who was against war and expressing gratitude to those who have served in the armed forces on Veterans Day.  

There is also the underlying tension between the view that the armed forces protect our safety and security and the view that the armed forces are used to undermine working for peace in the world.  

So, there is a sense in which Veterans Day is a day fraught with mixed feelings and contradictions.

I am wondering about truly remembering our veterans.  What if we were to commemorate each and every person who has served this country in the armed forces?  What if all those thousands and thousands of people were named and identified?  What if the toll that was taken on their lives and the lives of their families was cataloged?  What if their scars, emotional and physical, were charted?  What if all of their stories were told?   What would that be like?  To know who all of these veterans were, what they did, and how it affected their lives.  What if we spent Veterans Day, a holiday, pouring over the stories of veterans?  Listening to their stories?  Surrounded by published lists of all of their names?  What if we really remembered each and every veteran on Veterans Day instead of shopping, going to the beach, and sleeping in since it is a day off?  

Maybe if were really thought about the human cost of serving in the military as well as the financial cost, we would re-think our military-industrial complex.  

Stanley Baldwin, British statesman and three time Prime Minister, declared, “War would end if the dead could return.”

Maybe the most significant way we can express gratitude to those who have served in the military is by abolishing war.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:16   

Finding Gratitude through the Back Door

There is a wishing trees garden within the Arlington Garden in Pasadena, California. This public garden features native and drought tolerant plants. It has tables and chairs and benches for people to sit and enjoy the natural beauty. There is a labyrinth made from stones in the garden. And there are several trees blossoming with ribbons and papers that convey people’s wishes.

 

One post on the tree conveys these wishes:

I wish my husband will stop drinking alcohol and smoking.
I wish I will have job soon
I wish for best of health for my whole family
I wish I win in lotto.
I wish to have house soon.

After seeing that and some of the other wishes, here is my wish:

I wish to be more grateful!

 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Poetry

In 1937, an English teacher at De Witt Clinton High School, Abel Meeropol, wrote the poem Strange Fruit:

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Later, Meeropol set the poem to music. It was recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939.

Why be grateful for such wrenching words? For the portrayal of such a gruesome scene? In words or in song?

Here we are served by George Santayana who observed, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The poem and song Strange Fruit portray the past in sickeningly stark honesty. Meeropol was Jewish. Could he have been thinking that remembering this harrowing past in America could influence the course of events in Europe? We don’t know.

But may we be grateful for those writers, musicians, scholars, and artists who help us to remember the past so that we are not condemned to repeat it.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thinks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Forgiveness

We’ve done something to wrong someone. And we know it. And we feel awful about it. We’re abashed, ashamed. We do what we can. We want to make things right. We ask for forgiveness. And what a relief it is when that forgiveness is granted!

It can be hard to accept such a gift. A relationship is restored and maybe even strengthened. Our guilt is relieved. Forgiveness from someone is something to be very grateful for. Can you think of a time that you have received such forgiveness? How did that feel?

There is also another side to forgiveness. Sometimes we are the ones who have been wronged. Sometimes someone has done something that has caused us harm in some way. We bear the burden of the injury, the hurt, the pain. It may be something fairly minor. It may be devastating. But we carry the weight of having been wronged. It may linger and fester.

When we choose to forgive someone, we lay that weight down. We release that burden. We free ourselves from that load. And we can forgive whether the other party has requested that forgiveness or not. We can choose to forgive regardless of the demeanor of the other person.

Forgiving others restores us and frees us. Maybe you can think of someone who has hurt you. Forgive them in your heart. You don’t even need to tell them you have done so. And you likely will find that you have unburdened your spirit.

In this season of gratitude, may we give thanks for forgiveness – the forgiveness that we receive AND the forgiveness that we give.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thinks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16