Please join me in this prayer
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations be acceptable in thy sight Oh Lord my strength and My Redeemer.

Matthew 28:16-20
16 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. 17 The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. 18 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: 19 Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”-  Message translation

Please meditate with me on these words:

A Time for Disciples: Movement Making in a Time of Murder

We are in the evening of Empire. The mass movements that have erupted all across out nation–indeed the world–after the lynching of  Ahmaud Arbery and the state terrorism that killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have laid bare the bones of bigotry and have offered an autopsy for our automatic (read apathetic) existence. For far too long we have moved mechanically through our lives while bearing the weight of the maniacal malice that is the menace of white supremacy . Far too long we have let racism and injustice grip and manhandle the vital organs  of our society. The bruises testify against the conflicting reports. Some have seen the American corpse and have proclaimed life. Some have seen the American corpse and have determined that death has come from some other means than the crushing knee of our criminal negligence. But the bruised necks of the oppressed, the necks of black bodies, the necks of immigrant children, the necks of overworked workers, the necks of murdered trans children, bear the marks of the cruelty too loudly be ignored. In the place of our corporate silence they shout like Abel’s blood from the earth to the ear of God to testify against the murderous acts of Cain, cops, and courts. The Cains who murder, the cops who over militarize, and the courts who let unrepentant and “un-reconciled” killers go free. . In the place of our muted Christianity with rocks and stones, God ‘s children have cried out “There’s no hiding place down here”

The autopsy of empire is certain. As James Baldwin once said “America has a death of the heart”. The fires of Pentecost and protest make it clear. The time for prophetic renewal is here and the time for church photo opp’s is over. We’ve got to dismiss the spirit of 45 that says that faith is a prop for insanity and destruction, terror and abuse, domination and dog whistles. We need Jesus folk who can say Mr. President can you unhand the Bible you clearly don’t know how to use it and dangerous things should  never be in the hands of reckless actors.  Hebrews 4:12 says:

“The word of the God is quick and powerful sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even unto the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow…  Jeremiah said the word in me is fire shut up in my bones and if he were speaking today he might add “and it just  might burn down some systems if I let it out.”

The time for demons and dictators-in chief is over. The time for supremacists and their sing-along saints is over. The time of warrior police and where-in the world is-it justice is over.

It is now a time for Disciples.

Disciples like the movement-making women in chapter 28 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary ( a tandem that I  just like to call Mary Mary). The women who Matthew conveniently left out of the argument for apostolic authority in verse 16 but who authored this revolution. These movement Mary’s who arrive at the tomb despite the threat of system surveillance and system sabotage. Its a time for their courageous witness. The scripture says the earth shook when the angel of the Lord spoke to them. This clever cosign from the author demonstrates  how disruptive the world must have been their inside their spirits as well as outside side the tomb. These sisters had just lived through the lynching of their Lord. And despite the comfortable common sense of staying in doors they ventured outside to protest in grief by taking care of the place where the body had been laid. Moving while mourning, laboring while in lament these courageous sisters committed to working even while they were worried. and I can tell you all something?  Can I put my two cents in…sometimes… you receive the word of the Lord during an emotional earthquake, The word may come during your grief or in the middle of your anger,  in the middle of your frustration or lament., but you rarely receive a word from the Lord while seeking to be safe. Some of us need to let the angels agitate us.  To receive the word you gotta risk something. Can you risk your privilege, can you risk your fear, can your risk your anti-black racism, your anti-Asian-racism, your trans phobia, your patriarchy, your nationalism. for the word God as offered.

Mary Mary decided to risk and for their risk they received their reward of  being mothers of a movement. The word from the Lord caught fire in their spirits and even though they were tired they decided they could run on. They mixed a spiritual cocktail that mingled together subversive joy in the midst of their certain fear. Kind of like negro spirituals that started out in sorrow but coded recipes of freedom. They had a swing low sweet chariot in their spirits.  With this confounding excitement, this pre-Beyonce lemonade–these movement-making women ran to tell Matthew’s 11 male disciples who hadn’t moved. And in their work they encountered Jesus on the way and worshiped him. 

It takes vulnerability to worship when you don’t have words. It takes vulnerability to worship while you’re running, to place another’s worth at the forefront when you’ve got concerns yourself. to find a transcendent moment in the middle of trauma. Its a miracle what these Mary’s were able to manifest, and their manifestation was met with marching orders. Jesus told Mary Mary “Go and tell the disciples to meet me in Galilee. When they showed up, God co-signed. These movement-making women marshaled a movement that changed the world. This prelude to the Great commission not only corrects the history but let’s you know what the commission is all about. Jesus invites his disciples from inside their walls to outside in the public sphere to meet him and see him in the streets. 

This is a time for Disciples.

Disciples who can carry the blood-stained banner. Disciples who carry the discipline and determination of movement women. Disciples who would dare keep the lynched body in view long after it has ascended into heaven. Disciples who would see Jesus not only as God but God with us. Seeing his face in Mike Brown? In Nina Pop? In Tony McDade? in Sandra Bland?  in Eric Garner. Disciples who would see Jesus not up there some where but down here right now. Can you see a heavenly body in those you were taught to other? Can you see a heavenly body in those you were taught to hate?  Can you see Jesus in jeans and a durag? in drag? or when his pants sag?  Can you see Jesus in the streets?

Its a time for Disciples.

Disciples Disrupt.

They follow the divine mandate to Go!  Go to where they see Jesus moving.  Go to where they see the spirit of God swelling., rising or rebelling.  Whether it be in Minneapolis, Louisville, Ferguson or London. Disciples Go! They cannot stay put. They risk what they have to follow Jesus.  As disciples of the living God,  we move, we vibrate, we dance and dazzle. we twerk  and two-step, glide and electric slide until we move the needle forward. We go because the movement of our bodies testifies to the miracle working power in our limbs. It testifies to the God who tells us  to pray by moving our feet. The God that marches with us on the long walk to Freedom to the sound of “I ain’t gon let nobody turn me around”. The God  that disrupted history when the movement of her hips knocked the red sea on either side of movement-making people marching toward a promise land.  The God who makes a way out of no way disrupts and tells us “Go”! We join this God in forging new paths out of the funky rhythms of life. Her jazz makes the crooked places straight and the mountains to be made low. Her songs disrupts the silence and oppressive systems of our ordinary . No disciple dare stands still when God asks you to dance. DISCIPLES. MUST. GO!!

Disciples disrupt with their movement and disciples also dismantle They follow the divine mandate to train and instruct, recognizing that true teaching tears down the ignorance of this world.  We need disciples who follow the model of Jesus and not only speak truth to power but teach power to the people, Transgressing and transfiguring the classrooms of our troubles until we feel our help coming.  We need disciples like Jesus who not only dialogue and debate but demonstrate with their lives. Jesus taught service and then he served. He taught sacrifice and then gave. He taught justice and then acted justly.  He taught compassion and then showed compassion. He taught hospitality then made a table.  He taught love and then loved freely. He preached a rugged cross and then he carried it.  Those who accept his call must teach tenaciously.  Instruct in a sea of ignorance. Teach in the midst of tragedy. Correct during a failure of conscious.  Train beyond the maze of trauma.  and yes model love even in a time of murder.

So disciples disrupt, disciples dismantle and last disciples disciple

Disciples Disciple. They follow the mandate to baptize. but true disciples don’t simply baptize with water. They follow the tradition of Jesus under the prophetic words of John In Matthew 3:11  and baptize with the Holy spirit and with Fire.  We have watered down our baptism if we emerge from the water and do not set fire to the world. The Holy Spirit enables us with dunamis power. That explosive inner power. That power that does not come from the material world but from a matchless Triune God. Power that was birthed into us by the Father, breathed on us by the Son, and sealed in us by the Holy Spirit. That power that allows us to be a witness not only with our words but with our works. The power that even in a pandemic emptied out our homes and poured protesters into the streets. The power that forces down confederate monuments and mentalities. Power that turns the president’s scene of state terror into Black Lives Matter Plaza.  Power that forces cities to stop buying guns for the police in favor of grocery stores for the hood. The power that led to the arrest of Derek Chauvin  and the charging of his criminal co-conspirators.  The power that elected Ella Jones in the hometown of Mike Brown and come November will unseat the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We form ourselves and others in order to ignite the imagination of the world. We are the engine that engineers change.  the salt that makes the flavor pop off. American may run on Dunkin but the Kingdom runs on Disciples.

Disciples disrupt Disciples Dismantle and disciples disciple but (excuse me I lied) there one more point in the text-  a promise in all your labor Disciples are never Deserted.
Earlier this week I had a talk with me friend Gabby Wilkes. We both have decided to attend a number of protests during this time and I asked her with all of the clamor how do you find authentic voices in this movement. My friend Gabby told me that when you’re out there in the streets you’ve got to listen for the real disciples. I said Gabby how do can you determine who’s real. She said you will know who they are because they will be their everyday.These people invested in the movement beyond the cameras and the popularity. They will be there when you arrive and after you leave. When you wake up, they’ll be on the front lines. When you go to bed, they’ll be on the front line.  When the cameras leave they’ll still be quietly working for justice because they know (in the words of my friend Christopher Ware) that each day you wake up is the day to do the job God gave you. for some of us I know it seems that you’ve been working for quite some. you’ve been here during Ferguson, during Stockley and even now. So for the beloved disciples who’ve been working the night shift there’s a word for you in closing of this scripture.  For those who may be fatigued from fighting, worn out by the stresses of this world and the marches for yet another murder,Verse 20 Lets us know that God doesn’t desert us in the work. God instead  goes to work with you day after day after day…even until the age. God’s going to be with us day after day until the end of the age, until the end of whatever perplexes us, until the end of what confounds us, until the end whatever we struggle against until the age, season,  or time is over. Our troubles have an expiration date…but until we get there God will be with us day after day.

day after day
until the end of white supremacy
day after day
until the end of legal lynching
day after day
until the police are no longer militarized
day after day
until the end of voter suppression
day after day
until the end of racial terror
day after day
until the end of trans murder
day after day
until the end of covid 19
day after day
until the end of covid 45
day after day
until the the end of corporate looting
day after day
until the end of corporate greed
day after day
until the end of silent Churches
Day after day
until the end of injustice
Day after Day
Day after Day
Until our change is come

Nipsey Hussle was a prophet.

He spoke his gospel powerfully and unashamedly. Given the respect of being one of the realest MC’s out, his former life read like the intrigue of the Old Testament and probably just as violent. Growing up in Crenshaw, the struggles and challenges in his neighborhood seemed ominously codified in the title of his mixtape series, “Bullets Ain’t Got No Names”. His meteoric rise from the mud into the starry stratosphere of hip hop was almost as unexpected as the equally momentous transcendence of his personal conviction and maturity. Few people outside of Nipsey’s circle probably expected all that Nipsey would become. The stereotypes and stigmas around young black men especially with Nipsey’s story– gang ties, jail time, etc. make the emergence of a prophet unlikely. No doubt Nipsey probably endured the same deflating expectations Jesus endured when his critics patronizingly remarked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Nipsey in time would prove that the very best of us could come from Crenshaw. Nipsey not only survived his circumstances to become a successful musical artist, a father, and businessman, but also a true inspiration for many of fans who loved his music. Nipsey became in the next chapter of his life a true disciple of motivation and positivity. If his early mixtapes are his Old Testament, His album Victory Lap was his new testament. Preaching a gospel of self-determination, entrepreneurship, dedication, and straight hustle, Nipsey left an indelible mark on the hearts of hip hop fans everywhere.

Time would prove the Hustle Prophet not only prolific but prophetic. A tattoo nestled under his eye detailed the meaning of his name Ermias, “God Will Rise”. Beyond the usual boasting of rap artist, Nipsey’s success was a real thing. He soared, and he took all of Crenshaw with him. Many rappers rep their block or their neighborhood or brag about putting their city on the map. Nipsey had Crenshaw flowing through his veins. He used his resources and leverage to buy up his neighborhood, set up businesses, and even create major initiatives to represent a long-term investment in his community including: working with gangs and local police to end violence and investing in STEM program’s for Crenshaw’s youth. Nipsey loved the world through Crenshaw, and we all loved him back. Had he lived he might have proved Jesus’ biblical prophecy that a prophet is accepted everywhere but his hometown, inconclusive.

In his song Dedication, Nipsey very accurately compared the love of his fans to how Tupac was loved by his fans (“Tupac of this generation, blue pill in the f****** matrix”). The comparison rings true as Tupac in his own magical mastery of music and emotion really made hip hop fans feel heard in a distinct and personal way. At Tupac’s best, we felt that he was cheering for us, and Nipsey always did. In an ominous turn of history, similar to Tupac, Nipsey’s brilliant young life was ended far too soon and far too violently. With all the positive energy Nipsey manifested in this life and all the healing he brought to listeners of his music, it is a tragedy to lose such a remarkable life. His violent execution will forever be a cross undeserved.

With Easter almost upon us, I am reminded of the powerful message of that Christian season. The simple message of Easter is that despite living in a world that offers us death every day, we who dare to live must refuse to let death have the final word. Many things will be said about Nipsey and his remarkable life. Interviews and reflections abound that discuss Nipsey’s meaning, not just to Crenshaw, but to the world and each moment further solidifies an undisputed truth. His example has become contagious.

Recently, Nipsey’s album Victory Lap once again hit the Billboard Charts. This time at Number 2, a rise from its debut at Number 4 in 2018. It shows, I think, the powerful resonance of Nipsey’s message and the emerging conversion of new hearts being touched by his music. Many more young minds will rise because of Nipsey’s dedication, determination, and compassion. Whatever feelings of hate, jealousy, envy or rage inspired Nipsey’s murderer to fire those bullets, the attempt, although ending Nipsey’s natural life, was unsuccessful. He wanted to take Nipsey from us, and now we know he never will. Nipsey continues to rise.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton