(Note: We are fortunate to have a SECOND reflection from Kristen Walker this week! Thank you Kristen!)
Today’s gospel reading immediately took me back to my childhood. I remember sitting next to my mom on the thick burgundy pews on any given Sunday on Hudson Avenue where I attended church through my formative years. Preparation began the day before where my mom would sometimes hot-comb or braid both my sister and I’s hair, and have laid out dresses, slips and tights, church shoes and our Bible bags with all the kid essentials like peppermints, gel pens and a notebook.
Who else can relate to being a child in church without technology or tablets?
Anyways.
I vividly recall memories of sermons and songs that are a part of my spiritual legacy, whose words and melodies have been nourishing to my spirit throughout my many life experiences providing peace and perspective. The indelible impact of sitting in church on hot Sundays in August while a chorus of boisterous voices harmoniously sang lyrics of joy, triumph and reflection is proven further in my decision to join Spiritus Christi Church in July of 2020. It is a decision that aligned me with a faith community that is welcoming to all, and that lives by the example of Jesus in the ways we care for the poor and marginalized among us.
What better time to be reminded of our why, than in this season of Lent? Reminders can bring us closer to our purpose and can help refocus us on our path when we lose our way. Lent is a time of restoration and remembrance – which is a major point of these 40 days. I am thankful for the reminders in my life that help draw me closer to my highest self which is in some ways more Christ-like.
One song that is especially fitting for Lenten Season generally, and our Gospel text specifically, is Remind Me, Dear Lord. The lyrics read:
…Roll back the curtain of memory now and then
Show me where you brought me from and where I could have been
Just remember I’m a human and humans forget
So remind me, remind me dear Lord
This song sums up the Gospel reading for today (and I’m sorry y’all but the youtube versions do not live up to the memories of the Black Women singing the song in their soothing southern drawls!) and illuminates the point of interconnectedness (see blog 3/14) and how our actions impact others, and ultimately our own experiences.
I’m not sure if The Rich Man, who had daily access to housing, food and clothing, had even considered Lazarus, a homeless person with no consistent access to food and medical care. They are neighbors and yet, their earthly experiences are vastly different. A world apart even?
Sound familiar?
The proximity of the two folks could have become a very different story than the one we are presented with in the text. The person with more daily access to resources could have shared some of said resources to help Lazarus specifically. I’m not even talking about a lot, just the crumbs. Think of the daily waste of dining scrumptiously everyday with no modern refrigeration. Think of the spoilage! Think of the opportunity to serve.To literally save a life.
Anyways.
Upon death, both the privileged person and the pauper leave behind the societal advantages, binaries and constructs that kept them from truly being neighbors in this lifetime, and it’s truly a missed opportunity to create and maintain relationships across social status. What knowledge could they have exchanged? Lazarus having an ear to the ground as it were, and the person in purple with the resources and access to be an ally and advocate. Can you imagine the possibilities?
The lyrics state, show me where you brought me from and where I could have been, and I wonder if we can place ourselves in this story. Can we assess our social status and find a place of connection across that temporal status? I think the impact of these connections would be transformative. I wonder what the equivalent of crumbs would be in our contemporary context?
We have more time in this Lenten Season to be reminded of Gods’ love for us and dream for the world, and I hope that we continue to assess our hearts and open ourselves to the amazing gift of God’s love we experience through our daily interactions with everyone we encounter. I am grateful for these reminders too!
One Comment
Marilyn Rizzo-Ferris
Unfortunately, today I see that mostly, we are silos in our every day actions and reactions. We surround ourselves with certain people and just go about our days. We try to “do good” and think of others, but our inner circle of people is very small, even though we support others in ways, those seem like crumbs that we give. I smile and say hello and then move on. How connected, am I really? I find myself so out of touch since having COVID last year and since COVID in general. Wealth and poverty are at our door and all around us. I have been at both ends of the spectrum. And maybe today I am feeling more out of touch than ever before. I see what is going on in the world and feel there is so little I can do. I know that what little I can do, is positive, but it seems like crumbs. May peace, warmth and joy be present.
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