Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, May 4, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I am writing this the morning after the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. It strikes me that this passage from Acts is a scathing indictment of a group of people trying to cover themselves for their act of injustice without actually having to be held publicly accountable. How timely this is for me. Our policing system in the U.S. has racked up far too many stories of people of color being beaten in public, and thrown into prison (if they’re lucky—too many are murdered outright to actually be believed). These are people who supposedly have rights as American citizens or residents of this country, never mind basic human rights. There is little accountability and lots of cover-your-butt maneuvers from police. It’s incredibly telling and deeply grieving that the day after Daunte Wright was murdered by police (also here in the Twin Cities, where I live) when I went to Google to look up more information about what had happened, the first suggested search that popped up was “Daunte Wright record.” People are desperate to find reasons why Black people deserve to be shot and killed by police.
Let Paul’s bold declaration be a model for us in speaking out for others. Let us be willing to publicly call those in authority to accountability for their actions. Let them be held accountable, as Derek Chauvin was, as just one step in the march toward true justice.
God, stir me to action in boldly calling out injustice and demanding accountability for the oppressed and powerless, whom you hold so dear in your heart. Amen.
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