Woke Up This Mornin with My Mind Stayed on Freedom

 "In June 1961, Reverend Robert Wesby (c. 1927-1988) of Aurora, Illinois, created "I Woke Up This Morning with My Mind Stayed On Freedom" while spending time inHinds County, Mississippi's jail as a Freedom Rider. That autumn, 114 students sang the song at the Burglund High School Walk Out and march to McComb, Mississippi, city hall.

The song spread and became part of the civil rights movement, being one of the most notable pieces among many others. The song is referred to by Pete Seeger in his 1989 book Everybody Says Freedom. It falls under the folk music genre, which was popular in the 1930s and 1940s and was revived in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. Music and singing were an integral part of the movement, many songs being adapted from earlier religious songs."

Many thanks to those heroes who went before.

Well I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom
Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom
Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom
Hallelu (Hallelu)
Hallelu (Hallelu)
Hallelujah


Oh well I'm walking and talking with my mind stayed on freedom
Oh yes I'm walking and talking with my mind stayed on freedom
I said I'm walking and talking with my mind stayed on freedom
Hallelu (Hallelu)
Hallelu (Hallelu)
Hallelujah

New Days Lyrics, by Amanda Gorman

Cowards in Florida are banning books. Shame on them. One of the latest is a poetry book by Amanda Gorman. Shame on them. If you're opposed to powerful words of human liberty, you are free not to read it, but shame on those right wing parents and politicians who abuse their power to try to prevent others from reading words that they fear. 

Spread her powerful words. Let freedom ring in the backwards hearts of some Floridians!

May this be the day
We come together.
Mourning, we come to mend,
Withered, we come to weather,
Torn, we come to tend,
Battered, we come to better.
Tethered by this year of yearning,
We are learning
That though we weren’t ready for this,
We have been readied by it.
We steadily vow that no matter
How we are weighed down,
We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.
Even if we never get back to normal,
Someday we can venture beyond it,
To leave the known and take the first steps.
So let us not return to what was normal,
But reach toward what is next.

What was cursed, we will cure.
What was plagued, we will prove pure.
Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,
Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,
Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once all together beaten,
Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,
For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.
We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,
But to take on tomorrow.

We heed this old spirit,
In a new day’s lyric,
In our hearts, we hear it:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
Be bold, sang Time this year,
Be bold, sang Time,
For when you honor yesterday,
Tomorrow ye will find.
Know what we’ve fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.

Jesus, Paul and the Beloved Community and Concern for "The Least of These..."

In a post at Craig's blog, he suggested I was looking at one verse (Jesus saying he'd come to preach good news to the poor and marginalized) and ignored the rest of the Bible. But indeed, as I've made clear, I'm looking at the ENTIRETY of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, and seeing concern for the poor and marginalized as either THE or at least ONE of the most emphasized points, one of the most consistent themes. That and the nature of God's Realm (or if you prefer, God's kingdom) which just circles back around to God's realm is where the poor and marginalized are welcomed and protected.

And, as noted, the poor and marginalized are SPECIFICALLY cited by Jesus as WHO his Gospel was for and WHY he had come. When John questioned if Jesus was the One, Jesus said, "Look, I'm preaching the gospel to the poor." And on and on he went and on and on the bible goes. Perhaps you missed it?

I also look at Jesus actually sharing and offering The Gospel to people who were NOT in the right groups.

Well, of course, I've never said that the gospel was ONLY for the poor. Indeed, I've repeatedly insisted that this is NOT the case. Just that Jesus notes that his gospel STARTS with the poor and marginalized, and others are invited to join. Biblically speaking, throughout the Bible. You've read it, right?

Craig further suggested I was ignoring Paul (Side Note: Often, it seems religious conservatives pit Paul against Jesus and interpret Jesus through the lens of Paul's teaching, rather than the other way around - bad form, says I.)

Strangely enough, when Jesus commissioned Paul the right groups were never mentioned, and Paul also preached The Gospel to people of all demographic groups.

Says Craig. And yes, Paul doesn't seem as overtly and consistently concerned about or inclusive of the poor, AND YET, we must remember to understand and interpret Paul through the words and lens of Jesus and not try to make Jesus subservient to either Paul, or modern conservative notions of what Paul was saying.

Indeed, let's remember that when Paul was consulting with the elder apostles and leaders of the church (in Galatians 2) he noted...

they (Peter, James, John) recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of
preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter had been to the circumcised.

And WHO were these circumcised and uncircumcised people they were preaching to? The high-falutin' rich and powerful? Or the regular folk... people who may have often been quite poor? Do you know?

...For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised,
was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.
James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars,
gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship...

When??

...when they recognized the grace given to me.
They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

ALL they asked was...

Was WHAT? Wait for it...

...was that we should
continue to remember the poor,
the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Seems like the apostles recognized siding with the poor and marginalized was CORE - the one thing that should not be forgotten (as they had actually listened to Jesus) AND Paul was totally in agreement with that. "Of course!" he said. "THE VERY thing I WAS EAGER TO DO ALL ALONG!!"

As one traditional Christian website (them proud boys over at Ligonier!) helps illustrate...

Paul’s readiness is not empty bravado, for during his ministry he frequently exhorted the Gentile churches to help out the poor believers in Judea (Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:25–27; 1 Cor. 16:1–4)...

Giving to the poor is also, in a small way, an imitation of God. Our Creator gives eternal life to those who rely on Him alone, and our gifts can help provide physical life to those who have no finances on which they can depend.

Everyone who claims the name of Christ has the duty to help those who cannot feed themselves (James 1:27). Let us do what we can to make our churches the first places needy people, and needy Christians especially, can find help.

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/remembering-poor

And Paul, along with Jesus, is keen on warning against the trappings of wealth...

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.
It is through this craving that some have
wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

And...

As for the rich in this present age,
charge them not to be haughty,
nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches,
but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
They are to do good, to be rich in good works,
to be generous and ready to share, thus
storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future,
so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

1 Tim 6

And again, emphasizing how sharing with/welcoming the poor is just to be expected...

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor,
doing honest work with his own hands...

Why? Because there's a line in the scripture that says "don't steal..."? No.

so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Eph 4

Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”

2 Cor 9

Paul apparently thought that Psalmist there quoted though that their righteousness would be clear and endure forever AS they shared with the poor.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in love

As an aside: WHO are they being devoted to? THE BELOVED. The Beloved Community of the Church. As you all like to note (when talking about tenets VERY loosely connected to the bible such as "inerrancy" or "penal substitution theories of atonement"), the exact phrase doesn't have to be mentioned, as long as it's clearly there. THE BELOVED COMMUNITY OF GOD is clearly, directly, indisputably in the bible. IT IS perfectly clear, if you're not choosing to ignore it. Continuing...

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.
Practice hospitality...

Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be proud, but
be willing to associate with people of low position.

Rom 12

If you count Paul as the author of Hebrews, there's this...

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.

There's that damned loving beloved community again, EVEN IF he doesn't use that term (Craig had objected to King and others using the term Beloved Community to refer to the Realm/Kingdom of God).

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,
for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison,
and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Echoing Jesus' "the least of these" teaching. Paul (or the author of Hebrews, whichever) DID learn from Jesus, too, after all.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and
be content with what you have...

Heb 13

Continuing with the Epistles of Paul...

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction;
whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

WHOEVER sows - NOT from a desire to pleas the flesh, but to please God - WILL reap eternal life, says Paul. Why? Good works? No! Because they have embraced God's grace as is evidenced by their actions. Continuing..

Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Gal 6

we want you to know
about the grace
that God has given the Macedonian churches.
In the midst of a very severe trial,
their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,
and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of
sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

2 Cor 8

That grace demonstrated in sharing with the poor, even FROM the poor.

And I could go on. Paul may not have emphasized working with and for the poor and marginalized as much as Jesus or the prophets or Jesus' mother or James... but that same theme is THERE in Paul's writings for those who aren't closing their eyes.

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Indeed. It's almost like Paul and the apostles agreed with Jesus that this grace of siding/allying with the poor and marginalized was central to the Gospel which Jesus said he'd come to preach to the poor and marginalized.

How Is This Even an Option?

 How is this Biden border policy - like the Trump policy before it - even an option? I can't see how it's even marginally legal. According to an expert on refugee law:

Is the policy legal?

In 2019, the Trump administration proposed a rule very similar to that put forth by Biden, prohibiting asylum for migrants who did not first apply in countries of transit. The courts struck down the policy for violating the 1980 Refugee Act, which guarantees the right of all migrants who reach the United States to apply for asylum.

A bipartisan Congress passed the Refugee Act to bring the U.S. into compliance with its international obligations under the U.N.‘s 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which prohibit returning refugees to any country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.

In striking down the Trump-era rule, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out that the Refugee Act is very specific about the circumstances under which the government can deny asylum for failure to apply in a transit country. Under the act’s “safe third country” provision, that can happen only if the transit country is safe and has both a robust asylum system and a formal treaty with the United States agreeing to safe third-country status. The court found the Trump administration lacked all three conditions for imposing such a ban.

The Biden rule is somewhat different from Trump’s. It does not apply to individuals who schedule an asylum appointment at ports of entry through the CBP One app.

But this does not make the policy lawful. The Refugee Act expressly permits asylum seekers to access protection anywhere along the border – not just at ports of entry. And it does not require appointments to be made in advance.

In addition, CBP One has been plagued with significant technical problems, preventing many from even making appointments, and has raised serious equity and privacy concerns.

And more importantly, there is no getting around the fact that most countries of transit neither are safe for migrants nor have functioning asylum systems.

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This is just wrong and I don't understand anyone going along with it. Seeking asylum is a basic human right.