We can not sleep even though it is night....

Isaiah 21:11-12

A prophecy concerning Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" The Watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again."

I heard this verse and thought, "What on earth is this sermon going to be about?" But as he spoke, I found myself leaning forward in the pew; eating every word he spout.

He spoke of the marches with Dr. King. It was night. He spoke of Jim Crow. It was night. He spoke of the first time he was jailed. It was night. He spoke of Rosa Parks. It was night. He spoke of the death of Malcom X. It was night. He then spoke of the election of Barack Obama. And how morning had come.

But, as with every day, night always falls and we must persevere until morning comes once more.

There are people without food, water and shelter. It is night. There are students chained to educative debt. It is night. There are pollutants seeping into our Mother Earth and killing her. It is night. There are sick and dying without access to healthcare. It is night. There is war. It is night. There is racism, classism, sexism, ageism, heterosexism, inequality of every degree, rampant in our country. It is night.

We can not sleep even though it is night. We must persevere until the morning.

I have never dreamed that I would ever be in a position to hear Rev. Jesse Jackson speak. It was as though we were of two separate worlds. And in a way, perhaps we were. But we are no longer. I hope that what I heard in his sermon and have relayed here touches you as it has touched me.

peace be to you all.
katie