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Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In 2016 Maya Angelou wrote a poem titled “Continue” for Oprah but I’d like to believe she would let us in on it as well. It goes like this:

Into a world which needed you

My wish for you

Is that you continue

Continue

To be who and how you are

To astonish a mean world

With your acts of kindness

Continue

To allow humor to lighten the burden

of your tender heart

Continue

In a society dark with cruelty

To let the people hear the grandeur

Of God in the peals of your laughter

Continue

To let your eloquence

Elevate the people to heights

They had only imagined

Continue

To remind the people that

Each is as good as the other

And that no one is beneath

Nor above you

Continue

To remember your own young years

And look with favor upon the lost

And the least and the lonely

Continue

To put the mantel of your protection

Around the bodies of

The young and defenseless

Continue

To take the hand of the despised

And diseased and walk proudly with them

In the high street

Some might see you and

Be encouraged to do likewise

Continue

To plant a public kiss of concern

On the cheek of the sick

And the aged and infirm

And count that as a

Natural action to be expected

Continue

To let gratitude be the pillow

Upon which you kneel to

Say your nightly prayer

And let faith be the bridge

You build to overcome evil

And welcome good

Continue

To ignore no vision

Which comes to enlarge your range

And increase your spirit

Continue

To dare to love deeply

And risk everything

For the good thing

Continue

To float

Happily in the sea of infinite substance

Which set aside riches for you

Before you had a name

Continue

And by doing so

You and your work

Will be able to continue

Eternally

You hear it don’t you? Maya Angelou’s call to take a step and then another along our lifetime’s long path? To Continue. Continue with steps of laughter, love, kindness, justice, humility, prayer, service, and dreams… all walking toward a vision… a vision not yet achieved. A vision still far off. Often much, much too far off. But still we are called to continue… step by step even when that vision seems fleeting, like a mystery engulfed in flames and smoke.

Paul too reminds us that this is God’s call for us too.  He too would have us... Continue  

                                                                                                                

To let love be genuine; hate what is evil                                                                                             Hold fast to what is good, love one another                                                                                      Outdo one another in showing honor.

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To be tireless, enthusiastic, passionate                                                                                            Glowing in your service to the other

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To rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering,                                                                                    and persevering in prayer.

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To care for the sisters and brothers we know                                                                                      Show hospitality to the strangers we have yet to meet                                                                                                 Shower blessings, not curses on those                                                                                                 who persecute you.

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To live, bound to your neighbors                                                                                                   Laughing with them when they laugh,                                                                                            Weeping with them when they weep,                                                                                           Rejoicing with them when they rejoice.

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To live in harmony                                                                                                                                     Free from arrogance,                                                                                                                        Learning from the lowly,                                                                                                                       a life humble of heart.

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To go high when they go low,                                                                                                                    A living example of a better way.

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To leave vengeance and wrath                                                                                                                 and the heaping of burning coals                                                                                                                       to God’s hands.                                                                                                                                  Our hands are meant for feeding our enemies,                                                                                                                              and giving water to our foes.

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To not become the evil you fight,                                                                                                                 To count the means and not only the ends,                                                                                          To drown evil with rivers and lakes and oceans of good.

Eternally

You hear it again don’t you? Paul’s call to each next step on the long path? It is God’s call for you. To Continue… even in the darkest of times. To Continue, even with 180,000 dead American neighbors. Even with racism proclaimed as patriotism. Even with yet another unarmed black man shot in the back by police. God calls us through all of that, out of the smoke and inexplicable fire... God calls us to Continue.

Continue with one step and then another… a step of laughter, a step of love, then one of kindness.  A step of justice, one of humility, and then one of prayer. A step of dreaming. A step of service. All of those steps... one at a time... one after another... all walking toward a vision… a vision which the world raging around us has not yet been able to grasp. A vision that yes... is still painfully, terribly, dishearteningly at times, very far off. A vision as hard for mortals to hold as smoke from a burning bush.  

But still, it is a vision.  A vision which points us to something that is very, very real. It IS out there. It WILL come. This one is for us, but it like the visions given and fulfilled through countless generations in innumerable forms.  Each time a vision was given, it has been followed by a promise fulfilled.  Each time the God who knows the people’s sufferings, comes down to deliver and brings up God’s people, out of the place, the time, the struggle, the plague, the hatred, the brokenness, the fear, the pain, the injustice… The God who has ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS brought God’s people out of whatever sort of Egypt they were in and into a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  Out of death and into abundant life.  Even now that same God is doing it once again!  And so we Continue.  

I know you are weary.  We are all weary these days. Weary of this pandemic. Weary of the death, the hate, lies, uncertainty, violence, racism, injustice and all the rest. All that you endure now is real.  You feel tired because ALL of what you endure is too much!  Often much too much.  All that is true...AND… AND… AND… THIS WILL END. There will be a vaccine. The pandemic will end.  The hate, violence, racism and injustice will end. Those promised lands are real! They exist! They are out there! An so today we take one more step and remind one another that we are NOT walking toward nothing!  We walk to the Promised Land... to Resurrection... to Abundant Life! So let us all... Continue... with a step in love, then another in kindness, one in service, and one in humility... always guiding one another to Continue.  Amen.