Blessing of Persecutors on Martin Luther King Day.
I loved that Native American blessing at the start of the Service in Arizona. I wonder if Native Americans of any tribe have a Blessing of Persecutors. Jesus did. He said-Bless those who Persecute you and spitefully use you - especially if they curse you because you stand in my name. Blessed are those who face persecution for being supreme truth-tellers. He was.
Martin Luther King blessed his persecutors and those who spitefully used him. This is the key to Peacemaking. Some could hardly believe he could be so non-violent against fire hoses and
dogs and trumped up charges that got him locked up-just like Jesus. But he didn't call for raising a sword-he told Peter to put his sword in his sheath.
Bless those who use you spitefully persecute you and curse you. Because, he told us, it is like heaping burning coals on their heads. What frosts the froth off someone steaming mad? If you don't fight back. If you just say-Lord bless them --you deal with it. Because the battle is the Lord's. He has more Angels than you can see working it out for his children. Because his children don't go abandoned. He promises never to abandon them or forsake them. What can man do to you if the Lord has your back? Martin Luther King knew that. What can man possibly do to you? Throw you in jail- HA! When the Lord has your back you come out Victorious even if they shoot you dead- because the Lord has your back- and he has a mansion with many rooms waiting for you. That is the key to fearlessness- the Lord has your back.
So this Martin Luther King day, the best way I can see to honor his memory is to thank the Good Lord that he has your back, and bless all those who persecute you and spitefully use you and dump you, and insult you, and leave you for dead. Because if you are in the Lord, you already have his Victory-so you don't need to fight back- let his angels do it for you.
My grandfather used to sing and my grandmother used to whistle that tune "Be kind to your fine feathered friend, for that duck may be somebody's mother, they live in the marsh and the swamp and in any place that's damp. You may think that this is the end, cuz it is." It is a parody of another similar tune- but it resonated. There are people whom you think are swamp skum.
Nasty, smelly, to be avoided or just left to die - be kind to them. Your kindness may serve to clean up their act. Because they can't stand it when you are-it's like burning coals on top of their head. When they burn enough, any with any good in them will get a grip and not want to burn alive and change their ways. The bad ones will self destruct of their own spite.
I know you have a persecutor. We all do- it's our trial.
Be Kind to your fine feathered friends, for that Duck may be somebody's mother.
This Martin Luther King Day, do something somewhere unexpectedly Kind to someone who can't stand you. Give someone a cloak when they ask for your shirt. Return a curse with a smile and a blessing. Go out of your way to be friendly to a jerk. Make a banana bread for the boss you can't stand. Send your nasty neighbor a happy new year card. Give that lazy beggar a buck.
We can turn spite and anger around, one random act of kindness at a time.
I loved that Native American blessing at the start of the Service in Arizona. I wonder if Native Americans of any tribe have a Blessing of Persecutors. Jesus did. He said-Bless those who Persecute you and spitefully use you - especially if they curse you because you stand in my name. Blessed are those who face persecution for being supreme truth-tellers. He was.
Martin Luther King blessed his persecutors and those who spitefully used him. This is the key to Peacemaking. Some could hardly believe he could be so non-violent against fire hoses and
dogs and trumped up charges that got him locked up-just like Jesus. But he didn't call for raising a sword-he told Peter to put his sword in his sheath.
Bless those who use you spitefully persecute you and curse you. Because, he told us, it is like heaping burning coals on their heads. What frosts the froth off someone steaming mad? If you don't fight back. If you just say-Lord bless them --you deal with it. Because the battle is the Lord's. He has more Angels than you can see working it out for his children. Because his children don't go abandoned. He promises never to abandon them or forsake them. What can man do to you if the Lord has your back? Martin Luther King knew that. What can man possibly do to you? Throw you in jail- HA! When the Lord has your back you come out Victorious even if they shoot you dead- because the Lord has your back- and he has a mansion with many rooms waiting for you. That is the key to fearlessness- the Lord has your back.
So this Martin Luther King day, the best way I can see to honor his memory is to thank the Good Lord that he has your back, and bless all those who persecute you and spitefully use you and dump you, and insult you, and leave you for dead. Because if you are in the Lord, you already have his Victory-so you don't need to fight back- let his angels do it for you.
My grandfather used to sing and my grandmother used to whistle that tune "Be kind to your fine feathered friend, for that duck may be somebody's mother, they live in the marsh and the swamp and in any place that's damp. You may think that this is the end, cuz it is." It is a parody of another similar tune- but it resonated. There are people whom you think are swamp skum.
Nasty, smelly, to be avoided or just left to die - be kind to them. Your kindness may serve to clean up their act. Because they can't stand it when you are-it's like burning coals on top of their head. When they burn enough, any with any good in them will get a grip and not want to burn alive and change their ways. The bad ones will self destruct of their own spite.
I know you have a persecutor. We all do- it's our trial.
Be Kind to your fine feathered friends, for that Duck may be somebody's mother.
This Martin Luther King Day, do something somewhere unexpectedly Kind to someone who can't stand you. Give someone a cloak when they ask for your shirt. Return a curse with a smile and a blessing. Go out of your way to be friendly to a jerk. Make a banana bread for the boss you can't stand. Send your nasty neighbor a happy new year card. Give that lazy beggar a buck.
We can turn spite and anger around, one random act of kindness at a time.
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