"Take my Yoke Upon Me": Invitation and Promise Today

 Gospel reflection by The Rev. Duncan R. Wielzen, Ph.D., The Hague Netherlands. Colleague and friend, Dr. Wielzen is a parish priest and president of URI Europe Board, a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30 – New KJV)

Hearing these verses – be it for the very first time, or after several times – may cause one to wonder about what Jesus means by the word ‘yoke’. It is therefore important to remember that His words are two thousand years old, and that He said them to simple, believing Jews, who were indeed burdened with a yoke, especially the yoke of the 613 precepts - 248 commandments and 365 Prohibitions - which made up Jewish law, and still exists today. Obviously, so many commands and prohibitions are burdensome to bear which made them a real yoke that weighed down on law abiding Jewish people at that time.

But yokes still exist today. So many of us too often suffer from the pressure of life. Under our workload, for example, because we have to deliver what is expected from us. Many of us experience societal pressure because of what commerce and media dictates for living so called happy lives. Entire communities are suffering from the yoke of violence and discontent that disrupt peaceful living together. The growing threat of gun violence, the reluctance to address local problems honestly and gently, the turmoil in Belarus, the insurmountable division among citizens in the wake of the US Presidential election… it's becoming a heavier yoke every day.

Compared to all of that, the yoke of Jesus is easy. He does not make hard demands, he does not impose heavy assignments, he does not expect the impossible. His words are an invitation and a promise. An invitation to learn and a promise to receive. However, as easy as His yoke is, it still requires a courageous heart and a brave spirit to encounter the full spectrum of His yoke: a yoke of love, humility and kindness. These are priceless, i.e.: they don’t cost a dime and won’t diminish our humanity. They are fundamental to healing and cementing justice and peace. In any case, we have the freedom to respond to Jesus’ invitation or not.

Beauty in the midst of Challenge

 Beauty in a tree just outside our deck. Remembrance of a creating and recreating God in the midst of climate change crisis, justice inequality, a continuing pandemic, threats to our democracy and peaceful transfer of power. Courage, my friends for such a time as this!

U.S. Could Use International Election Observer Team

 My friend Duncan from the Netherlands recently asked me if the U.S. needed someone from the International community to be an observer for our 2020 election. I agreed we could use the help!

The Jimmy Carter Center has observed 111 elections in 39 countries since 1989. Observers bring impartiality, and their presence helps to reassure voters that they can safely cast their ballots.

The United States faces previously unimaginable barriers to people’s constitutional right to vote, including voter suppression, restrictive I.D. laws, and defunding of and slowing down the mail service. The presidential incumbent seems open to Russian interference. He says in advance the elections will be fraudulent and that he might not accept the results of the election These tactics and more make voting in a “peaceful” democracy as hard as possible.

Would the U.S. accept international observers? Probably not, but our issues are serious. Observers bring impartiality and help to reassure voters that they can safely cast their ballots. They begin well in advance of elections and assess registration practices. During elections, the observers monitor voting and remain afterwards to monitor vote tabulation. They can serve as mediators to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.

My friend Duncan is originally from Suriname which recently held elections. Their President, who had been accused of crimes, was defeated. This Dutch-speaking Caribbean country has a parliamentary multiparty system. The losing party said to the winners: “to every Surinamese of these coalition parties who will form the government, the blessing of the Most High of the religion you profess”.

Their election was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May authorities imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, ordered non-essential businesses closed and said people could travel only to get food or medicine. Facemasks are mandatory in shops; meetings of more than five people are banned. As of August 13, there were only 39 deaths in this country of 600,000.

What might we learn from other democratic nations? Might we now need an international team to monitor the 2020 elections in this democracy of the United States of America?

Final words from John Lewis

Final words from John Lewis, published in The New York Times the day of his funeral, July 30, 2020:

"While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."

30th anniversary of the ADA: The Intersectionality of Racism and Disability

We mark the 30th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) this Sunday, July 26. What is the intersection of Racism and Disability? We need to address all isms in the work to eradicate systemic racism.

The summer issue of “Voice of the United Methodist Disability Connection” discusses the intersectionality: “Many of us are working for the end of the killing of unarmed black men and women by police. Thirty to 80 percent of those killed were persons with some type of disability. (The exact number is unknown because no one tracks these statistics.) There are instances of Black Deaf men being shot because they didn't hear the verbal command to stop. At least a quarter of victims were experiencing a psychiatric crisis and unable to communicate their needs. If one's disability causes slower or atypical speech or reactions, a person is at a higher risk of being injured or killed.”

We are trying to eliminate the school to prison pipeline. Black children are disproportionately punished, suspended, arrested, and incarcerated, and the rates for children with disabilities are even higher

Participating in antiracism protests, we need to make sure they are accessible as was a recent Milwaukee march. “The route was level and the march led by wheelchair users who set the pace. Sign language interpreters were stationed throughout. . . Ear plugs were available at rest stations for people sensitive to the noise level.”

There have been a lot of wonderful structural changes since passage of the ADA, Paratransit or buses with lifts didn't exist before, and there were no curb cuts in the sidewalks. Now people with disabilities can use power wheelchairs in public. People’s use of service dogs is accepted. Students receive extra time for tests and other accommodations to help them do well.

But attitudes change slowly. Former Iowa senator Tom Harkin, prominent co-author of the ADA and today still a strong advocate, recently said in a PBS special that the percentage of people with disabilities being employed is no higher than it was 30 years ago. People of color continue to face discrimination in employment.

Churches were exempt from the ADA. We have learned that having loud worship isn't always good for people with autism; others with disabilities also need a quieter environment. Many congregations now do have assisted listening devices, large print bulletins and hymnals, lever doorknobs, even some chancel ramps. Some have lowered their welcome center counters, redesigned a bathroom, installed better lighting, fixed the sidewalk, and installed automatic door openers to the sanctuary, fellowship hall, and restrooms.

What has not changed? We still have assemblies and conference meetings scheduled in inaccessible spaces, with no one questioning that choice. Parents still tell their children not to look or ask about disability, teaching them that disability is a bad thing.

Some churches are still stuck in ableist theology that says disability is either a blessing or a curse for sin. Candidates for ministry who have a disability often are discouraged from proceeding, or their application is simply “lost.”

Businesses still often do not comply with anti-discrimination policies/laws in regard to racism nor with accommodations for people living with a disability. There are few adverse consequents for such exclusivity. However, together we can help dismantle racism and confront ableism.

What if? Mandates are Given for All of the People!

Mandates are given and laws made for the welfare of all the people.

What if only ½ the people stopped at stoplights and stop signs and one could choose whether to do so or not?

What if only ½ the people were required to not smoke in a building open to the public?

What if only ½ the people in a car wore seatbelts and the car crashed?

What if only ½ the people were required to go through airport security and people were free to decide if they wanted to or not?

What if our president or governor refused to mandate or set an example?

What if only some people wear masks in a pandemic?  (Oh, that’s the case, isn’t it?)

Please add you own “What ifs” in reply. . .

New U.S. Citizens Welcomed in Iowa

"Now, I wish to speak to you as United States citizens, which you now are,” said U.S. Sr. District Judge Robert Pratt in Iowa this week as he welcomed ninety-eight people from thirty-three countries, such as Burundi, Vietnam and Cameroon. (The ceremony was held outdoors in a parking lot this year.)

Pratt said: You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American religion. Do not believe it. As an American, you may freely and openly be a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or you may adhere to any other religion, or you may be an agnostic or an atheist.

You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American way to think and believe about political matters, economic matters and social matters. Do not believe it. As an American, you may freely and openly adhere to political, economic and social views on the right, on the left, or anywhere in between.

You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American set of values. Do not believe it. As an American, you may openly hold beliefs and values greatly different from those of others — even if those of others are shared by many and yours are shared by few.

Simply stated, there is no single American way to think or believe. Indeed, conformity of thought and belief would be contrary to the underlying principles of this great nation.

We Tear Apart Prejudices

(Last of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

We begin prayerfully, explaining, sharing, upbuilding. We begin everywhere racism sneaks in an ugly word, doubt and fear. We begin everywhere growing Christians open their hearts and minds.

We tear apart prejudices, fallacy by fallacy. We talk. We write. We help. Yes, we march. And when the time for marching slows, with eyes wide open, seeing this world and its people in the Creator’s will, trusting in Christ unafraid, we will continue to let God’s love conquer sin in whatever way God opens to us.

Church as a Redemptive Community

Church as a Redemptive Community

(Fifth of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

As a Church we begin each week in repentance, and then having worshipped as the Body of Christ, we begin to be the Church, functioning as a redemptive community. . . to make the Body One.  Love is not easy, but it does not count costs. Tokenism, “middle-of-the roadism,” gradualism, and calculated love have no place. Wisdom does.

We begin each day, not fearing “What might happen”: “We might offend,” “Some might leave the church,” “The Negroes [African Americans] might take over,” “The value of my home might go down.” We begin each day, not despairing: “The White community might not accept me,” “There’s no hope, why ask for trouble?” “Things will never be better.”  

We begin in the most real pessimism, knowing how sinful our hearts are, which no program of social justice, no national tragedy will cure.  And yet we begin with the most real optimism, trusting confidently that Christ has conquered sin and Satan, and the power of the Holy Spirit in the “Sleeping Giant” of the Church can indeed do more than we could possibly dream.

We are Freed from Building Barriers

We Respond to Racism Because We Are Freed from Building Barriers (Fourth of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

We don’t respond to the present racial crisis because it is in the news, nor because of America’s image abroad, nor even because “democracy must be preserved.”

We don’t respond out of Christian “responsibility.” We respond as new creatures, freed from the bondage of having to provide for ourselves, having to be somebody, having to judge other people, having to pride ourselves on our accomplishment, having to love only paternalistically.

We are freed to accept people as people, to spend ourselves in love feeding on the means of Grace, so that our old selfishness may be defeated each day. In repentance of our attitudes and words which have built barriers, each day we begin anew to love people as God loves.

Love is Never Easy

Love is Never Easy (Third of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

The Christian’s answer to racism will stem from the will of God. And this answer is unmistakably clear—not easy, but clear. Love is never easy.

God created all people to be God’s creation. God created variety to exist together in harmony. God created the personalities of people to live together in love. God saved us through the boundless love of Jesus Christ to be a new creation, that the barriers of pride, hate, fear, unconcern, and sin that separate us from God and each other might be forever gone. God recreated us through the cross to worship and to live together NOW.

Racism has been Laid Bare Before Us

God’s Will – Clear but Not Easy (Second of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

The issue of racism has been laid bare before us. Often, we have been so afraid to become involved in social problems for fear that our Lutheranism might be misunderstood, disarranged, theologically distorted, that we have stifled church members, disabling their love and thus disarming the heart of our theology.

We ARE involved. The immensity of articles, books, speeches, while seemingly making research on racism easier, only shows us clearly the complexity of the problem. Now our task, with all the repentant and redeemed wisdom we have, is to study, to work, and to love.

God’s Will – Clear But Not Easy (First of 6 excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

There is a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking, and a time for acting. And there is a time when keeping silent speaks and acts. Our eyes, ears, mind, and tongues have been saturated with the topic of race relations.

Ignoring the subject no longer works. At this time our silence speaks. Too often it says, “I am afraid!” Afraid of what? Insecurity, discomfort socially and economically? We can no longer escape into silent inactivity because silent inactivity shouts “unconcern.”

God’s message of love for us is clear. As Christ’s death and resurrection fill us with new life, so too God’s power to be Christ’s action in this world means our love must permeate the world. As real as Jesus’ incarnation, so real must be our action of faith and love. It must dare to take on flesh.

When Will We Ever Learn? Juneteenth and the Tulsa Massacre

Friday is Juneteenth, (June 19). “Freedom Day,” celebrates the day a Union army general read federal orders in Galveston, proclaiming that all enslaved persons in Texas were now free. The Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them 2 ½ years earlier. Enforcement had been slow and inconsistent. Finally, all slaves in the United States were free. Will African Americans ever be totally free? Will legislation always be slow? We must act now so that all people can be truly free.

The Tulsa race massacre was, May 31-June 1, 1921. It was the single worst event of racial violence in U.S. history. Mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses. More than 800 people were admitted to hospitals and as many as 6,000 black residents were interned at large facilities. How many were killed? We may never know because bodies were put into unmarked, probably mass graves. A private airplane bombed and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of what at that time was the wealthiest black community in the United States. Before 9/11, before Pearl Harbor, the first time an aircraft bombed the U.S. was 99 years ago in Tulsa. Ten thousand “Negroes” were left homeless.

Black and white residents were silent for decades about the terror and violence. If a black person spoke or wrote about it, he or she would be lynched. The massacre was largely omitted from local, state, and national histories.  Finally, a commission to study the massacre began 75 years later. The Commission's final report, published in 2001, said that the city had conspired with the mob of white citizens against black citizens. Will we now learn about systemic racism? Will justice always be delayed? Listen!  We must learn.

Sixty Years of Ministry: White Supremacy Continues

In marking the 60^th anniversary of my consecration as a deaconess (June 6, 1960), I reflect on my first call to a congregation in St. Louis. I was well accepted, liked. However, people said Norma had one problem: “She likes Negroes!” I began my call to public ministry a few months before John F. Kennedy was elected president. I was serving during the March on Washington August 28, 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech.

 Three weeks later white supremacists bombed a Baptist church in Birmingham, killing 4 Sunday School girls and injuring 22 people. Burton and I joined a protest demonstration in St. Louis. It so happened that members from my congregation saw a picture of me marching and brought a complaint. When the Voters’ Assembly met to decide if I should be fired, I was not allowed to be present because women then could not vote in that church.

Fast forward to my diaconal ministry of being a community organizer in Detroit during the “riot”—we called it a “rebellion,” the bloodiest of “The Long Hot Summer” of 1967. It began as a confrontation between black residents and the Detroit Police Department. Nearly 2,000 U.S. Army paratroopers were deployed, adding to 800 Michigan state police and 9,000 members of the National Guard, to “quell the violence.”  After MLK’s assassination in 1968, protests returned in Detroit. Nearly 200 cities experienced arson and sniper fire. It was Holy Week.

Pres. Lyndon Johnson had just released the “Kerner Report” investigating the 1967 “riots,” which stated: “What white Americans have never fully understood—but what the Negro can never forget. . .” The causes named were poverty, lack of housing, lack of economic opportunities and discrimination in the job market. “White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it.”

Saturday I marked the 60^th anniversary of my consecration by being with deaconess sisters, via Zoom: a number in the Twin Cities, and others from all over Minnesota, the N.D. border, Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Diaconal ministry is a call for prophetic service. Sunday, Trinity Lutheran Church here in Mason City, via on-line streaming—included my anniversary in the announcements and prayers: “Dr. Everist was later ordained and taught for 41 years at Yale Divinity School and Wartburg Theological Seminary. She worked for social justice as a community organizer in the inner cities of Detroit and New Haven, CT. She served parishes in St. Louis and in New Haven and Hamden, CT. Her formation as a deaconess has shaped her entire career as a pastor, professor, author and servant leader.”

Sixty years later: the issues are in front of us today. We are all involved and called to activate change. As Pastor Gerrietts this morning prayed, “Continue to strengthen her, and each of us, to be bold in our proclamation of the Gospel.” Our calling is now—and urgent!

I'm Watching! Protests Need to Continue

I’ve been watching. We are tempted to seek merely a “return to calm.”  Fewer fires, charges filed, less need for the National Guard.  However, from my perspective of having lived in the midst of the Detroit Riots (We said “rebellions.”) of ’67 and ’68, “quiet again” does not mean justice achieved. I’m pleased Ferguson elected a black woman mayor, and this Iowa congressional district said “No” to representation by a man steeped in racism and white nationalism. But this is just a chance for a new beginning.

            For sixty years Burton and I have been working for Social Justice. The work is hard and long. So, I’m watching! Perhaps Trump’s call to use The Insurrection Act is merely a threat. But ’68 came after ’67. Might we yet see the U.S. military descend on streets across the nation? Charges brought, but will convictions result? Police department reform policies pledged, but will municipalities follow through? And so much more.

            Racial inequality is deep; dare we hope for equal justice? White supremacy reigns. COVID-19 continues. Can we imagine a truly whole and healthy pluralistic society? We will need to work long and hard—together. I’m watching.

Beaches, Bars and Cemeteries

Beaches and Bars! Media show pictures of both crowded; we are concerned that people will not social distance, causing a rise in numbers of COVID-19 cases this long weekend. I have not heard that people are concerned about crowds at cemeteries. Today people mostly think of the final weekend in May as the unofficial beginning of the summer season, a time to have fun.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, started after the Civil War to honor the Union and Confederate dead. In Charleston, S.C., 257 Union soldiers died in prison there and were buried in unmarked graves. The town’s black residents organized a day in May during which they landscaped a burial ground to properly honor the soldiers. For decades May 31 was a time to visit cemeteries and decorate the graves of deceased family members and a solemn day of remembrance for those having served in the armed forces.

In 1950 Congress passed a resolution requesting that the President issue a Proclamation calling for Americans to observe Memorial Day as a day of Prayer for Permanent Peace. In 1968 Memorial Day was established as the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend. The day became an official federal holiday in 197l.

          And now, in 2020? With the movement to “open up” the country, gathering outside in large gatherings is very tempting. But what about the cemeteries?  I have seen images of new space for hundreds of graves being dug daily in Brazil for victims of the pandemic. They are unmarked graves crowded together. How do we commemorate—remember together—the millions who are dying globally? How do we with courage and compassion resolve to pray and work for national and world-wide health and peace?

"Am I comfortable?" is Not the Question

“Am I comfortable with ______?” is not the question.  “Is my neighbor safe?” needs to shape our policies and decisions. Living with the global pandemic calls forth collaboration, both locally and most certainly globally. However, when a leader thinks “Me first,” at all costs, that reinforces our propensity to consider only my individual needs. Likewise, that reinforces The U.S. propensity to think only about this nation. 

Rather than compete, we are called to collaborate, work with, learn from, care for the nations of the world. This is a time to support the World Health Organization and the United Nations.  This is a time to ask, “How can we work together for the well-being of all?”

After Iowa Caucuses: What Really Happened

     Timing! What the news is missing this morning: During Caucus night in Iowa there was no violence, no police needed, no people shooting each another, no name-calling.  Our room was filled with respectful, patient people who followed the intricate rules through the long process.

     While news reporters this morning talk about chaos and confusion and some people even speculating conspiracy, they are missing the picture.  It’s all in the timing. Iowans need to be very sure the count of sign-ins, first preference group, realignment groups, and final delegate count are all accurate. Otherwise people might doubt the truth.  Verify, verify, verify!  

     Sure, the aps didn’t work as planned. Not good; but the paper trail is in place.  And, in our ward, because two precincts met at one school building,  we had to make sure people signed in on the right sheets and went to their correct caucus room. Timing.  But people were amazingly kind and helpful to each other.  Instead of rude bullying, there was careful collaboration.

     National news analysts were frustrated they had 3 ½ hours with no results to report. Primaries are good, but those of us in precincts in a Caucus state know we needed to come together, talk, listen, be honest, and take the time to choose well. (There were no “undecideds” in our  precinct.) Watch for the full results and keep working. This nation needs truth, clarity, verification and trustworthy collaboration.

"Until Iowa" Post 6 MLK Jr. Day: Leadership for the Iowa Caucuses

“Until Iowa” Post 6: Today, Jan. 20, is MLK Jr. Day. We marked it with three hours of training for the Iowa Caucuses 14 days from now. It was a strenuous morning, learning leadership to help the evening of Feb. 3 go well. First, people in our precinct will register as a caucus voter, a new voter, a youth observer, other observers, or the media.  New this year for the Democrats will be presidential preference cards. Yes, those will be signed and counted after the first alignment in preference groups, so the nation will know the total number of people who voted for each presidential candidate.

Then comes the math. Based on the number of delegates one’s precinct will have to the county convention, a percentage determines if a presidential preference group is viable. There are careful procedures. I picture it taking time, but being thoughtful. Perhaps there are 247 or maybe 432 caucus voters and 8 delegates assigned this precinct. By counting, multiplication, and rounding up to the fourth decimal point, how many actual delegates each presidential candidate receives is determined. The nation will be waiting that night for this number from the 1678 caucuses in the 99 counties of Iowa.

There’s still more work to do: choosing the actual delegates and alternates to the county convention. The gathered caucus goers will have opportunity to discuss and adopt resolutions to recommend to the Country Platform Committee.  Yes, challenging work. We will do it together in this participatory democracy. Martin Luther King Jr worked his entire life so that all might have voice and vote.