Born again....and again.....and again

Many years ago, I don't even remember exactly when, on a cold, snowy January weekend like today, I made a spiritual retreat to Abbey Gethsemani, the Trappist monastery near Bardstown, Kentucky. I will spare you some of the lengthy details of the event, but I had a profound mystical experience during the retreat; in the language of some, I was "born again" -- again. Part of the provocation of that mystical experience was some statuary in the woods -- statues of the disciples, asleep at the edge of the Garden of Gethsemani, and of Jesus in his agony and torment, at the center of the Garden.

A part of what made the event so meaningful was the dedication of the statuary -- in memory of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, the 3 civil rights workers who were slain in Mississippi while they were engaged in voter registration. They laid down their lives for freedom -- not their own, but for oppressed people they didn't even know.

As we approach an historic, pivotal moment in our history next Tuesday, many have remarked how they never believed they would live to see the day. And we remember many of those who did not live long enough to see this come to pass: Dr. King, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks and many others. This week, I am remembering James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman.

Yes YOU did. Yes WE did. Well done, good and faithful servants. Rest in peace.

Shalom,
Warren