"Oil and Water" --- a play by Robert Chafe

This afternoon an audience was mezmerized by Halifax Neptune's Theatre production of "Oil and Water."  A true tale is spun of a black man, Lanier Phillips, who was aboard the US Truxtun when it was shipwrecked off Newfoundland in 1942.  Fearing that it was Iceland the two blackmen on the boat were ordered below deck as the ship was cast onto the craggy rocks --- blackmen were prohibited in Iceland.  Lanier did not go below, wishing to take a chance above deck rather than in the belly of the ship.  He awoke to two women cleaning the oil off of him, confused he struggled, not knowing if they were friend or foe --- definitely fearing foe.
The one women kept rubbing and rubbing and rubbing.  "Maam, the colour doesn't come off."  The men who had washed ashore were covered in oil from the ship that was wrecked.  The black cleaned off the other men with a lot of washing and rubbing.
The little town of St. Lawrence had never seen anyone that had dark skin.

The women, when realizing there was not oil, only skin.... she looked...she touched, "It is beautiful!"

The climax of the play is that racism is taught.  Those in St. Lawrenece town knew nothing of the world Lanier was only too familiar with. Interspersed were vinettes of 1974 when Boston was integrating blacks and whites in the public school system --- Lanier's daughter was part of the first school.  She was angry, scared, and demonized all white people.  Lanier finally showed her a photo from his two days in Newfoundland --- two days of being treated as everyone else, a somebody --- everyone in the photo, black and white, were smiling.  He carried the photo in his breast pocket to remind himself that there was hope ---- that someone saw him as beautiful.
Those words carried with Lanier through his life encouraged him to be an advocate in race relations, lecturing, and working for human rights across the US.

I wonder, what phrases or actions do we give that become words of hope in others, words or pictures that might last decades.  I only  pray that I am given wisdom to share the nuggets of hope that someone so desperately needs, so that they may become passionate advocates ---- for the healing of the world. 

Epiphany 4A -sermon: Micah 6: 1-8

Epiphany 4A

It is “Saturday Night at the Movies” on TV Ontario.  My family gathers around our black and white TV to be swept away to another time.  My favourite old movies were those that included dancing, waltzing to be specific. 

The scene began with the orchestra setting their bows on the strings ready to play Strauss or Tchaikovsky: the bass played a solid note with the violas following with two quicker higher notes, then the rest of the orchestra would fill in the melody movements over top.

Dancers would take to the floor of a grand ball room: a man offering his hand to a lady dressed in satin long satin gloves, puffy dresses, and beautiful jewellery. They would walk onto the dance floor, position themselves, pause...then move starting on the solid bass note, moving in a circular motion around the floor.  The other couples also danced in a circular motion around the ballroom.  The camera would pan up so the movie goer would see the whole floor of dancers moving as one around the room; no one bumping into each other, or going the wrong direction, moving as a unit...getting faster and faster as the orchestra worked through the variations of the theme.  Breathtaking.

I remember lots of waltzing in the movies. Everyone knew how to waltz: the rich, the poor, young, and old, urbanites and cowpokes.

It is “Sunday Morning at the Church”.  We gather around the black and white words printed in scripture to be swept away to another time.  My favourite old passages are those that include prophecy, memorable prophecy to be specific.

The scene begins with the Lord ready to speak at the heavenly court; a divine lawsuit is about to be underway.  The Lord speaks a solid bass note with the prophet replying with two quicker words; the Lord speaks another solid bass note with two quicker verses directed at a spokesperson for the community; then bottom note moves to the prophet Micah whose bass note is a bold solid question to the people, followed by two supporting questions...

And then comes the drawing together of the variations presented in the waltz:  do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.  _DAdada, DAdada_ DA dada_ do justice, love kindness, walk humbly ....

The characters in the dance presented are of great importance.

Micah, in his judgemental tone, addresses his disdain towards Jerusalem and its religious leaders, whom he sees as corrupt and pretensious. Whereas the supposed Holy City holds to the kingship of David and speaks of religious traditions upholding Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who are mentioned over and over again in scripture, as in the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, most of the characters mentioned by Micah are not mentioned in religious rituals and in scripture not outside of the initial telling of their stories.

Moses – if one remembers was a murder, as an outlaw he goes to look after his father-in-law’s sheep, he stutters such that he won’t go to pharaoh without Aaron as a sidekick

Aaron- is a religious leader before a permanent temple is built.  He, along with his sister Miriam, find fault with Moses when he marries a Cushite wife

Miriam – a woman, leads the people in song, she had saved Moses by placing him in a basket among the reeds

King Balaak who is Moabite (not of the people) who conscribes Balaam to use his gifts to curse their enemies; where in travelling Balaam is unable to see the angel of the Lord, beats his donkey, and in the end blesses people at God’s behest.

Shittim to Gilgal represent ancient Israelite religious centres set up in a place of landlessness on the edge of the Jordan River, in Joshua it is from these sites that the people of Israel move across the Jordan to be a settled people.

Micah is expressing the inclusiveness of the Lord’s requirements.  His list of historical memories is to signify all people --- there is no excuse for not participating in the Lord’s request.  It is not just for the people of Jerusalem and the priests of the time.  The Lord’s request is to priests without temples, those who stutter, women, people who curse or beat their donkeys, for people of other nations, for the landless and the soon to be settled, nobodys and everybodys.

I return to the waltz.  For the movie scene to be epic, it requires a room of people --- a variety of people --- to dance in couples in the midst of a whole bunch of other couples; moving together in circular motion at the same speed, in the same direction, with the same purpose, all contributing to the overall ballroom waltz experience.  All it would take is one couple to start jiving or to stand still, or to walk away and the whole dance floor would be interrupted  --- tripping over each other, stopping the movement, chaos in-suing.

Micah is saying that everyone has a place, everyone has been given a direction, there are no excuses: everyone is to participate in what God is doing in the world --- the requirement is to dance: justice, kindness, humility.

This past week folk legend Pete Seeger passed away; 94 years of age. The newspaper recalled an interview with him following the Manhattan Occupy Movement march of 2011.  He walked in the front line of the march.  He told the Associated Press,  “Be wary of great leaders. Hope that there are many, many small leaders.”  The words of the Lord, put into the mouth of Micah, centuries later repeated by Seeger.

Pete is a good example of waltzing in the fulfillment of the word’s of the Lord; the fulfillment of God’s vision and promises.  He was an example to many generations of North Americans, instructing people how to effect change through song and determination.

He was a simple man with a banjo, who with this gift was a history-sifting singer, and an  ever-so-gentle rabble-rouser.  His waltzing voiced discontent of Hitler, the Vietnam war, nuclear power; the waltz advocated civil rights and environmental cleanup.  The waltz was danced to his tunes:  If I had a Hammer.  Turn, Turn, Turn. Where Have all the flowers Gone.

Change, he believed and lived, was not in the hands of great leaders, but danced by many, many small leaders.  Anybody –nobodies, everybodies - can be small leaders.

Hearing a waltz transports me back to the days of watching black and white movies. I enter the dreams I use to have of me --- decked in satin gloves, with a dark green velvet dress with satin panels, hair wrapped up with pearl hairpins --- my partner would take my hand, we would take our spot on the dance floor, pause – and then waltz _DA dada, DA dada, DA dada_ as the variations would move along we would move faster and faster, as other dancers filled the floor contentment would spread, energy would rise, and the experience was exhilarating -epic.  And when it was done, as exhausted as one might have felt, you wanted to do it all over again.

Is that not what the Lord requires of us?  Is that not what the words of Micah are calling us to this morning? A way of waltzing through life?  --- do justice, love kindness, walk humbly: do justice, love kindness, walk humbly --- as all of us join the orchestra, dancing in a myriad of variations, the Spirit in our midst conducting the scene in the grand ballroom of life, we actively participate in God’s waltz.  I extend a preverbial satin gloved hand, inviting you to dance with me for the contentment of ourselves, for the healing of the community, for the energy of the world, for the experience of and the fulfillment of God’s vision, God’s reign come. Exhilarating –epic!