"Remembering the Prophets"

by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 04/04/24

Mary Magdalene.

Mary the Mother of James.

Salome.

Joanna.

The other women.

These are the voices of the earliest preachers of the risen Christ - the women who found Jesus’ tomb empty and proclaimed what they had seen to the rest of the world. This week after Easter I am reminded again to give thanks for their faithful witness. They were the very first to proclaim what we shout out with joy on Easter morning - Christ is Risen!

Christ is risen indeed!

Fifty-six years ago on today’s date, another proclaimer and American Baptist died: Martin Luther King, Jr. The day before his death he spoke at the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike. In his speech, he demanded that the city treat its black civil servants with justice and dignity and urged the black community to band together in nonviolent protest of the injustices. In that speech he used the image of Moses looking into the Promised Land after having helped free the Hebrew slaves from bondage in Egypt.

“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”^[1]

 Today is also Maya Angelou’s birthday (she would have been 96). Most well known for her biographical writings and poetry, she also worked with Malcom X and Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights movement. In her poem “Caged Bird,” she writes, 

The caged bird sings  

with a fearful trill  

of things unknown  

but longed for still   

and his tune is heard  

on the distant hill  

for the caged bird  

sings of freedom.

 Speaking of her own life experience, she reminds us that Christ’s work to free us from the grave must extend to all folx. 

At the[1]  beginning of the book of 1 John, the author writes, “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of Life” (1 John 1:1). The Evangelist was very concerned that the readers knew that they were writing from a place of first-hand knowledge. 

Today, as we walk out of Holy Week, let us remember with thanksgiving the witnesses who came before us and spoke prophetic truth so that we might know how God was and is at work in the world. Mary, Mary, Salome, Joanna, the other women, MLK Jr., and Angelou still speak truths to us about Christ’s work in this world and the human condition that needs healing. 

Blessings, 

Pastor Amy