A day for advocates

Today, 4 February, is the birthday of two prominent advocates: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Rosa Parks. Both are lights to follow in our individual and corporate callings to do what is just, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly. (Micah 6.8)

Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran minister living in Germany during the dark days of Hitler. The questions he asked of disciples are timeless --- what does your discipleship cost you and how important is the building and maintaining of community?

The most still-stops-me-and-makes-me-think quality about Bonhoeffer was that he came to believe that Hitler must be stopped and plotted with others assassination. Did you catch that? A devoted, discipled clergyman actively engaged in efforts to kill Hitler. In fact, it was the failed assassination plot that resulted in Bonheoffer’s arrest, imprisonment, and execution.

Bonhoeffer makes me think. Bonhoeffer is a living paradox that cannot easily be labeled, boxed, and neatly categorized and easily dealt with; he troubles the waters.

We know the story of Rosa Parks and on what would have been her 100th birthday; the US Post Office issued the “Rosa Parks Stamp.” The clean and tidy story from our school days presents a Rosa as a meek and mild woman who after a long day of work was tired and just needed to sit down.

Think again.

Truth be told, she was a fiery, committed activist completely engaged in the cause of civil rights and she had been chosen and prepared for this action. When she would not be moved, she had no idea how the story was going to end nor what might happen. She did it anyway. Her courage inspires.

What’s the gift for us received in the life-stories of these two advocates?
It’s that they continue to stir us and, if we get stirred enough, move us to respond.

Is your faith neat and tidy and mostly lived out in a pew?

What have you risked?

Do you see, hear, and feel any cause that stirs you to action?

The answers are found in how we live.

sj;

It's an All Play

A significant reason why I had really good attendance in high school was, yes, it was the rule of the house, and, because I was involved in sports.

I’m a major proponent of team sports and highly recommend that kids join in. If hitting, kicking, shooting, pitching, catching (did you ever notice how violent are our actions toward the ball?) are not your things, then be a manager, a scorekeeper, a mascot, a member of the pep band.

In those growing-up years of adolescence, it is important to belong and be part of something that is not just about you; it is about the team and a shared goal. You practice two-a-days and on Saturday mornings together, run together when you tick-off the coach, lose together, win together, have great stories you share together.

This is why I am so pleased that the U.S. Board of Education announced that students with disabilities must be given the opportunity to join school teams and that officials must make “reasonable modifications” to accommodate their desire to join and to play. A note to all advocates: Let’s keep watch on this and make sure students with disabilities are given every opportunity to participate and are not blocked by some schools who use the out of “reasonable modifications” to say it costs too much or distracts from the sport too much to allow their participation.

The benefits of this announcement are significant for all involved and are a huge step in creating a society where all belong, all participate, and all are given the opportunity to be a part of that ever-expanding, diverse group known as “us.”

sj;

Wonderful!

As has been previously noted in this blog, I am one who enjoys winter; I like the cold, I like the snow.

I know writing this when we’ve had a rather brisk week and on a day when the snow and cold made driving a bit of a challenge may not be well-received. I left my car in the North Side, caught the trolley, and walked home. It made me feel very Viking-like. I put on flannel.

Folks, we live in the Northeast, we should have winters, and significant accumulations of snow, and cold temperatures. As a kid, I remember spending the day sled riding down the old road, playing in snow drifts that were up to my waist, and running alongside my Dad as he ran the snow blower so the plume of snow would hit me. I like this winter stuff!

I spent six winters in Erie and it was grand! My first winter there, the city set a record for snow; the natives took it all in stride and one adopted the attitude that in a city that frequently got snowfalls in the double-digits, a snowstorm that brought six inches was considered a dusting.

As you dig-out and hunker down, I share this quote from Garrison Keillor:

Growing up in a place that has winter, you learn to avoid self-pity. Winter is not a personal experience; everybody else is as cold as you, so you shouldn’t complain about it too much. You learn this as a kid, coming home crying from the cold, and Mother looks down and says, “It’s only a little frostbite. You’re okay.” And thus you learn to be okay. What’s done is done. Get over it. Drink your coffee. It’s not the best you’ll ever get but it’s good enough.

Winter is wonderful!

sj