Monday, July 6, 2020
Judy Howard
Serve
Maybe this time people of all races will work together to make it count, to truly make America the home of the free, with liberty and justice for all.
The prompt for this week is the word SERVE. When Rob asked me to participate, I thought, “sure!” But what I’ve been hearing in my head as I thought about a reflection didn’t seem to mesh with the word serve.
What has been going around in my head this week is a Shaker tune that Kevin Siegfried arranged and harmonized. Kevin is an amazingly talented composer and his works touch my heart. The piece that has been haunting me all week was written (text and tune) in 1862, with the backdrop of the Civil War by Shaker Sister Cecelia Devyr in New Lebanon, New York. The piece can be found on Kevin’s CD, Gentle Words, from 2000. (used with permission)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrLkGCCsaIU
PRAYER FOR THE CAPTIVE
(Supplication in a Nation’s Calamity)
Dark is the cloud that rests over the nation,
wild is the war cry that pierces the air.
Dark is the cloud that rests over the nation,
wild is the hatred that pierces the air.
God’s heavy judgments spread wide desolation,
strong hearts are bowed in the depths of despair.
Lord, may the bonds of the captive be broken,
O may this struggle bring sweet liberty.
Teach us that love is a heavenborn token,
and that the truth can alone make us free.
Guide Zion’s children in this trying hour,
keep us dependent on thy love and care.
Down in the valley we find thy true power,
Lord, in thy mercy, O still guide us there.
Down in the valley we find thy true power,
Lord, in thy mercy, O still guide us there.
As Christians, we are daily called upon to serve. We serve our families; we serve each other; and we serve our greater community. In our service we are serving God. I think I’m helping, serving. I’m calling people, sending cards, reaching out. We’re helping with our grandchildren, and Olin and Ashley and our neighbors are helping us. I make food for people and do projects for my family.
Matthew 25: 34-40: Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Now, during this fraught time of civil unrest combined with a pandemic and a radically divided nation, there must be more that I can do to serve my fellow human being.
I’ve been worried and saddened by the deep divisions that seem to be tearing us apart. What can I do? How can I serve? How can I help bring us together and heal us?
I’ve been energized and emboldened and excited by the Black Lives Matter movement. I pray that this time it will work. I pray that because people have time on their hands and are restless from the pandemic and from quarantining, that the conditions are ripe for the movement to take hold. Maybe this time people of all races will work together to make it count, to truly make America the home of the free, with liberty and justice for all. What can I do? How can I serve? How can I make sure that it’s not just maybe, but definitely?
I don’t have answers for myself - just ideas, but I hope to be able to ask the right questions and listen to the answers so that my service to others can be more meaningful. This is how I’m focusing my prayers right now.
