Healing and history - September 15

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96; 1 Kings 22:1-28; 1 Cor. 2:1-13; Matt. 4:18-25

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. (Matthew 4:24-25)

One of the methods of Bible study that I find generative and beautiful is to imagine where I would be in the scene as I ponder it. The act of hearing or reading Holy Scripture opens a doorway for each of us to crawl into the story and look around. In reading from the gospel according to Matthew this morning, I can imagine a dusty road in the white hot sun, waiting for Jesus. Waiting for my family’s turn for healing. Perhaps it took two of us to bring our uncle who is sick, as it is exhausting and physically awkward to help another grown person move about when they are unsteady on their feet. We follow the crowds to the public worship space to hear Jesus teach about this other kingdom, apart from the rulers of our land. This promised land and promised love of God. Healing in the moment and healing to come. What a hallowed place that synagogue feels like, witnessing healings and feeling the inspiration of Jesus’ message. I can imagine I would see that space of worship so differently after the healer and teacher moved on. Walking past it would elicit memories and feelings of consolation, hopefulness, peace, and inspiration.

Do you have a place that fills you with these feelings? Maybe it is Saint Stephen’s. Maybe it is a lake house. Maybe it is a parking lot. Who knows…many find churches spaces of peace and encouragement. I know I do. I am thinking about places of safety and nourishment this morning because today is the 58th anniversary of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. This church, originally organized in 1873 as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham, functioned as a meeting place, social center, and lecture hall for a variety of activities important to the lives of the city’s black residents. On the church’s website today, in describing their history and the role of the church in community life, this is written: “African Americans from across the city and neighboring towns came to Sixteenth Street, then called ‘everybody’s church,’ to take part in the special programs it hosted.” Because of its central location, the church became a hub of activity for civil rights activities in Birmingham in the 1960s. Marches and demonstrations were planned and implemented to bring an end to the public segregation of blacks from whites.

On a Sunday morning in September 1963, at 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls attending Sunday School and injuring more than 20 other members of the congregation. Later that same evening, in different parts of town, a black youth was killed by police and one was murdered by a mob of white men. September 15, 1963 was a painful, horrific day. The church that had been a nexus of hope and change was left with a hole blown out of the side, and hundreds of lives touched by violence and loss. “The Magic City” was a place of tragedy and racism.

John Archibald, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for The Birmingham News, spoke at Saint Stephen’s this weekend about his dad’s legacy as a local minister during the Civil Rights era. He spoke about how important it is to know the history. It is a painful history. It is an uncomfortable history. And yet, we are called to open our eyes to see the impact, know the loss, and seek to understand what went wrong. I come back to the image of standing in line, waiting for Jesus on that dusty road. I believe that as we imagine ourselves waiting for Jesus to cure every disease and every sickness among us, when it is our time, Jesus sees the whole picture of our brokenness and pain. He knows it all. There is no way to hide the festering wounds on our skin or in our hearts. He sees it.

Through prayer and study and action as Christians, we strive to prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus. So in the vein of that discipline, let us begin practicing being honest about our pains and disappointments, our regrets and our fears. Through being open and loving, let our prayers to God be that we will not repeat the hurt inflicted in the past. Let our prayers to God be that we will learn from our history of racism, so that we may live into the kingdom of God and do God’s will this day. Amen.

--Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

Where is a place of healing and safety for you? What is it like for you to wait for healing?

What do you know or remember about the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church?

Daily Challenge

Take a few minutes to read more about the racial conflicts in Birmingham in the 1960s. Then, sit in prayer, praying for those affected by violence as they worked for change. Finally, take 10 minutes to journal about how knowing this history moves you to act and be.