On Sunday, November 17th I had the awesome opportunity to share the preached moment with the people of Mokone Memorial AME Church in Soweto, South Africa.
I am truly a manuscript preacher but on this day, the Lord did not allow that to happen! I preached from an outline. I pray I was able to capture the preached moment as it was delivered.
To G-d be the glory for this life-changing opportunity! Thank you Rev. Dr. Timothy Tyler for the awesome opportunity to serve!
Honoring
the presence of the Lord in this place
To the
Ancestors upon whose shoulders I stand
To
Presiding Elder and Pastor of the church and community
To Rev.
Dr. Timothy E. Tyler
To Senator
Peter Groff and Rev. Dr. Regina Groff
To
Connectional Lay Secretary Ada Groff
To Rev.
Dr. Jeremiah Wright
To all
officers, members, and friends ~ I greet you today with the Joy of Jesus
Let us
pray
Psalm 137
By the
rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, ‘Tear it down! Tear it down!
Down to its foundations!’
O daughter Babylon, you devastator!
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
Thus ends
the reading of the 137th Psalm
I invite
you to journey with me during this preaching moment focusing on the invitation
“Come meet me by the riverside”
Introduction
I am very
clear that this is or can be a very challenging psalm. I am also very clear that I cannot tell it
all in this preaching moment. We have
experienced a lot over the last few days ~ some good, some heart wrenching,
some exciting, and some convicting. Through all of my many experiences the one
thing that remained consistent was the fact that some things are universal.
Move I ~
Contextual/Contemporary
Asphalt is
used to pave roads
Concrete
is used for roads, walls, barriers
Irons and
Ironing boards look alike
Bacon and
eggs are offered everywhere I go
Public
transportation in one way, shape, or form including taxis, buses and/or trains
Advertising
is big business
Money
talks
Affordable
housing is no so affordable
And
Extreme
poverty (from Shanty Town in Soweto to the old streets of Harlem to the mission
in Denver at lunch time to the empty lot up the block from Gladys and Ron’s
Chicken and Waffles in Atlanta GA) ~ visible by those who dare to look ~
visible by those who dare to drive, walk, skip, run, through those
neighborhoods ~ Extreme poverty!
Universal/parallel/comparable
things that cross space and time. For instance, I was born and raised in
Harlem, NY. 125th was (and I
hope it still is) the mecca of Harlem World.
I would take a walk across 125th street; I lived on 124th
and 2nd avenue in Wagner Projects and would walk about 10 city
blocks west to shop, eat, pay a bill, etc.
As I would walk across 125th St, the mecca of Harlem, these
red double decker buses would ride slowly across 125th while tourist
would listen to the tour guide and the tourist would take pictures. That made me angry. I would question, why are they doing this? I
am not on display! This is my home!
And here I
find myself riding on a bus, through the streets of Soweto feeling like the
oppressed has just become the oppressor. As my spirit is grieving, the sacred
text John 3:16 comes to mind: So G-d so loved the world (that
includes the woman washing clothes from a tub and an outdoor faucet next to
aluminum siding called home ~ including the little boys; one without shoes who
kept following us on the low and finally Rosemarie gave them some money and
they walked away arm over shoulder ~ the cutest sight to behold and we will
never know what happened to them once they turned that corner) that
G-d gave G-d’s only begotten Son and whosoever believeth in Him shall not
perish but they shall have everlasting life.
My sisters
and my brothers will not perish yet all around I see death, destruction,
poverty, marginalization, racism, sexism, exploitation, dehumanization,
deculturalization ~ and I can’t help but turn to 137th Psalm of
lament lifting up one verse: By the rivers of Babylon – there we sat down and
there we wept when we remembered Zion.
Move II ~
The Text ~ Psalm 13:1
Here is
the 137th Psalm we find a lament over the destruction of
Jerusalem. Israel is now in captivity by
the Babylonians; Foreign occupation and destruction, names changed (as Dr.
Wright stated in his amazing lecture,) and territories realigned. This song,
this lament was written during a time of death and destruction. The captives
hung their harps for how could they sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land. The
captives were tormented; reminded every day of their bondage.
Glad to be
away from the noisy streets, the captives sought the river side, where the flow
of the waters seemed to be in sympathy with their tears. It was some slight
comfort to be out of the crowd, and to have a little breathing room, and
therefore they sat down, as if to rest a while and solace themselves in their
sorrow. In little groups they sat down and made common lamentation, mingling
their memories and their tears. (http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/treasury-of-david/psalms-137-1.html)
Move III ~
They gathered by the river to achieve some semblance
of peace ~ they gathered on the streets of Soweto to entertain to achieve some
semblance of peace ~ they gathered in Harlem in Mount Morris park on Sunday
mornings for a drum circle to achieve some semblance of peace ~ they gathered
at church on Sunday morning to achieve some semblance of peace. Remember as you are in Babylon you can create
a space of peace and serenity in the midst of the storm ~ They went by the
rivers of Babylon…
They sat ~ The word sat means to occupy, to be present,
to encamp ~ there we sat ~ we came together, we shared stories, listened to one
another, exchanged ideas and ways to foster hope ~ we sat! My sisters and my brothers, in order to
create change, to make a difference, to change the world one hungry, one naked
person at a time, it will take building relationships. Being present in the moment; good, bad, or
indifferent ~ we must be present in the lives of those who are being labeled,
ostracized, and marginalized ~ oh if only one person takes the hand of another
who is struggling, living under impoverished conditions, and takes their hand
just to sit and be present with her/him. Imagine impacting one life at a time
to collectively destroy structures and systems that were not build for us
anyway.
The contextual use of
the word sat in this scripture is a mark of misery or captivity:
a. The beggar sat by the
temple gate called Beautiful
b. The lame man sat by the
river to be healed
c. The blind beggar who was
blind since birth calling out Jesus’ s name sat and waited on Him
Sometimes we just have
to sit and wait on the Lord and be of good courage ~ sit with all of our stuff
as we humble ourselves and pour out to G-d ~ sitting does not mean sitting still
without being intentional ~ it means actively seeking G-d while putting oneself
aside to find G-d and to hear the answer…
… and there we wept ~ sometimes we move too
quickly to the resurrection and we don’t stay on Good Friday to hear what G-d
is saying in the midst of despair, fear, murder, destruction, hurt and
pain. They not only sat but they
wept. They wept when they recalled the
days of the temple, Jerusalem at is finest ~ they wept and they wept there ~
sometimes you just gotta sit still right in the midst of, acknowledge your
emotions, and reflect/share on the times G-d has brought you through before and
G-d will do it again. A lament is crying out to G-d expecting something to
happen ~ expecting G-d to move as only G-d can ~ expecting to be saved,
delivered, transformed, and healed ~ Sometimes we must weep over Mother Africa
remembering the days of past and present where we were and still are kings and
queens; where we overcame slavery and apartheid; where we thought there was no
way out and the Lord made a way out of no way ~
Conclusion ~
Come meet me by the riverside ~ we will gather… we will sit… and we will weep only to rise again! To rise and reclaim what was taken! To rise and be the women and me of G-d we were destined to be! Come meet me by the riverside; there we will sit and weep together as we remember Jerusalem, Mother Africa! See you by the riverside!
