“Black Power, in short, is an attitude, an inward affirmation of the essential worth of blackness. It means that the black man will not be poisoned by the stereotypes that others have of him, but will affirm from the depth of his soul : "Get used to me, I am not getting used to anyone." And "if the white man challenges my humanity, I will impose my whole weight as a man on his life and show him that I am not that `sho good eatin' that he persists in imagining” Dr. James Cone, Ancestor Truth Telling. There’s been a lot of vulnerability that has erupted because perhaps there is a paradigm shift. Or maybe perhaps the anger, frustration, suffering and oppression that many of humanity have experienced in our lifetime. Or even, because we realize of the responsibility that our Ancestors have placed upon us and we can no longer afford to shrug it off, expecting someone else to pick it up. We realize that what the Risen Christ said to us about “loving one’s neighbor” means beyond the surface; it means going deeper and actually making an effort to put our bodies physically on the line for those as advocates, allies and co-conspirators. In other words, if you cannot see yourself immersing yourself into a community so much so, that you will strive for that community who has been invisible, visible-then don’t bother.
In other words, if you come to church expecting the same rigamarole and become irritated because something in Scriptures or someone sobbing during a prayer, or someone that cannot contain the fire shut up in their bones and is shouting for joy and agitating the people towards working against inequality and injustice, is bothering you and your comfortability? You must be an empty human being. Truth Telling. I mean seriously, What is your experience with the Holy Spirit? Do you really think that the experience in Acts was a onetime thing? “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” What does the Holy Spirit, She Mean to you? What is your experience when She comes? Or do you try to stuff Her down Because being possessed, By She By the Spirit By Ancient Spirits By Ancestral Spirits By the most Ancient Cosmos Means you come in contact with the Creator Means that suddenly you have no control That you then see everyone else gathered with you Whether they are: Disabled Trans Muslim Palestinian African Descent First Peoples Sex Workers Homeless Atheist Pagan Christian Questioning Suddenly, no matter how we communicate it is through the Holy Spirit, that we realize how much we are human and how much we are bonded to the Creator God. Truth Telling. Pentecost becomes this liturgical holiday where we dress up in red and wave banners, but I’ve always felt, especially in a progressive Christian tradition we don’t allow the Spirit to move us. That for some Christian traditions, we frown on self-expression and lean toward controlling how we worship. We even question theologically this idea of the entrance of the Holy Spirit into us, as we experience a holy possession-because sometimes it is through that possession, we find the power to move us into action. Action to challenge the policies and legislations that attempt to destroy places in Creation for the sake of capitalism or against the eradication of a people because of religious racism or to voice the sins of white supremacy or violence against bodies who have been pushed into poverty and hunger further. My beloved Sister, Tuhina said “You cannot have love without justice.” Truth Telling. This Pentecost, let the spirit move. Ache’ If you appreciate the work of our site, we'd encourage you to contribute to our Patreon. The first of the funds will be going towards paying our writers before any other expenses.
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