The Inner Life of a Prophet - February 12
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 88; PM Psalm 91, 92; Isa. 61:1-9; 2 Tim. 3:1-17; Mark 10:32-45
Today’s Reflection
Today’s passage from Isaiah gives us a glimpse into the inner life of a prophet, and insight into what work Isaiah sensed God calling him to do:
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion—to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations (Isaiah 6: 1-4).
This work of bringing good news to the oppressed, binding up the broken-hearted, and proclaiming liberty to the captives is the ongoing work of all of us who follow in the footsteps of Jesus. In Christ, we find the love, mercy, and hope that allow us to tap into the deep wellspring from which we can draw what we need to comfort all who mourn, to strengthen faint spirits, and to repair the devastations of many generations.
When I think of bringing good news to the oppressed and repairing the devastations of many generations, I think of the work of the civil rights movement in the 20th century—work that continues to this day. Thurgood Marshall, while working as lead counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court. This was the landmark case in which the racial segregation of public schools in the United States was overturned, marking the beginning of the racial integration not just of our education system, but of every sphere of public life.
To be an apostle, means to be “one who is sent out.” While Marshall was based out of New York for the three decades of his work as a civil rights attorney, like Paul, he was constantly on the road. Marshall was “one who was sent out” to do the work of civil rights litigation, which required him to travel all around the country. Mainly he traveled throughout the Deep South, helping local NAACP attorneys to file legal cases as part of their coordinated efforts to desegregate schools, secure equal voting rights, and ensure equal treatment of all before the law.
Thurgood Marshall faced constant danger as he traveled from place to place doing the work God had given him to do. Time and again, he risked his life for the sake of what was right. When he would be on his way to a Southern town, word would be sent around the community that “a sick uncle” needed people to sit up with him through the night, which was code that people were needed to house Marshall overnight and guard him while he slept. Often, for his safety, he would move between two or three different locations each night while on the road. Sometimes, he even would be smuggled into a town in the back of a hearse.
The documentary film Mr. Civil Rights: Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP includes a recording of Marshall himself telling the story of one of the many times he was threatened: “I was changing trains and I had about a two- or three-hour stopover. This white man came up beside me in plain clothes, with a great big pistol, and he said, “[Expletive], what are you doing here?” And I said, “Well, I am waiting.” And he said, “What did you say?” I said, “Sir! I am waiting for a train.” And he said, “Well, there’s only one more train that comes through here at 4 o’clock and you’d better be on it, because the sun never did go on down on a live [black man] in this town.”
But Marshall kept taking the train southward, knowing that he needed to persevere in doing the work that God had given him to do. As biographer Juan Williams explains, “he develop[ed] a reputation in small communities that’s really incredible. He bec[ame] almost a Christ-like figure. Salvation is going to come if we can just get Lawyer Marshall to come down here and argue with these Southern sheriffs and these Southern judges and these all-white juries…. if we can just get Thurgood Marshall.”
In our Gospel passage for today, Jesus says: “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many’” (Mark 10: 43-45). This is what we can learn from Thurgood Marshall, and all those others who, then and now, devote their lives to lift up the lives of others. If we are followers of Christ, then we, too, are called not to be served, but to serve.
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
What does it look like to bring good news to the oppressed, bind up the broken-hearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives? What opportunities do you see in your own life and in our own community to do this prophetic work?
Daily Challenge
Learn more about what the Episcopal Church is doing to promote racial healing and reconciliation by exploring the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta through their website or their YouTube channel.