We all remember where we were a year ago on January 6th. It was a truly frightening day, made even more so in Duluth because we were in the midst of a city-wide internet outage. No one here could get access to information for several hours. Around five in the afternoon the internet was restored and we did see the mob and the destruction. We were awash with fear, anger and grief. Our prayers continue now for all those still so affected by that day – the police officers, our representatives, all the workers at the capitol and our democracy itself.
The day after the attack on the capitol, Bill Moyers did an interview with Heather Cox Richardson on his podcast “Moyers on Democracy”. Cox Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College. She has a very insightful daily blog that I now follow. Moyers asked her if she could believe what she saw?
She replied, “I believed them and I wept. And I am not exaggerating. Seeing that Confederate flag, which had never flown in the Capitol during the Civil War, and it had never flown in the Capitol in the 1870s, and it had never flown in the Capitol during the second rise of KKK in the 1920s, going through our people’s government house in 2021– the blow that that means for those of us who understand exactly what was at stake in the Confederacy. That image for me, of the flag being carried through the halls was, I think, my lowest moment as an American.
Moyers replied, ”Interesting because I kept seeing the flags all afternoon: the Confederate flag, American flags flying upside down. Flags with the name “Jesus” on them, “Jesus saves,” “Jesus 2020.”
This comment by Moyers struck my soul. The name of Jesus being waved over acts of violence sickened me. Jesus, a brown skinned, peasant man, who over and over again taught the radical way of loving our enemies, caring for everyone, especially people on the margins, was truly being misrepresented. It reminded me again that we need to push hard, to live out his radical way of love in our public lives, which is justice.
There were words of hope after the carnage, words spoken from the Senate floor. Ben Sasse, a Republican Senator from Nebraska said, “You can’t do big things together as Americans if you think other Americans are the enemy. Look, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future, I get it. There’s a lot that does need to be rebuilt. But if you’re angry, I want to beg you — don`t let the screamers who monetize hate have the final word. There are some who want to burn it all down. We met some of them today. But they aren’t going to win. Don’t let them be your prophets. Instead, organize, persuade, but most importantly, love your neighbor. Visit the widower down the street who’s lonely and didn’t want to tell anybody that his wife died and he doesn’t have a lot of friends. Shovel somebody’s driveway. You can’t hate somebody who just shoveled your driveway. The heart of life is about community and neighborhood, and we’re supposed to be servant leaders.
Servant leadership is what Jesus taught over and over again. He emphasized it as he transitioned leadership to his disciples and to us his followers. According to John on the night before he died he showed his disciples once again how to love. In the midst of that final meal together, Jesus takes off his outer robe and ties a towel around his waist. He splashes warm water into a large basin and gently washes the feet of those he loves. Jesus takes the role of the household servant and removes the dirt and sand from the feet of his fellow travelers.
Jesus’ commandment to love is not an abstraction, but made real in a shared meal, warm water, a betrayal, a denial, a towel, tears, a gentle touch and hope. The disciples’ weaknesses are exposed that night but so is the deep love of Jesus. They and we are asked to carry on this work of love as we journey together. This work of love is crucial as we try to heal from last January 6th. May love be the banner we wave, washing over us all. Flags of hope like this photo my husband took in Puerto Rico on March 2, 2020 on their American Citizenship Day.
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