06-19-20

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 19, 2020
Scripture: Psalm 13:1-2
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Thought for the Day: Today is Juneteenth, or Jubilee Day. It is the day in which we commemorate the end of slavery in this country. I have known of Juneteenth for years, but sadly I did not know the history of why it was on June 19 until I moved to Texas. You probably already know how the Emancipation Proclamation was made on January 1, 1863. The Civil War came to an end on April 9, 1865. It wasn’t until June 19 of that same year that General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and announced to enslaved African Americans that the Civil War was over and they were free. I know I am slow to this realization, but what does it mean for freedom to be delayed? How many people died in slavery even after slavery was ended? Too often the message people long to hear is delayed. It is one thing to teach a child patience, it is something very different for someone to suffer because a message did not make it to the ears of those who needed to hear it. Today, where do you hear cries like that of the Psalmist – How long, O Lord? Where have you experienced unnecessary delays that had real and painful implications? Where might God be calling you to carry a message of Good News into the life of someone who has been waiting for far too long for such a message?

Prayer: How long, O Lord, how long? This is the cry of so many in every generation. Empower us with the Good News and a willingness to carry that Good News wherever it has yet to be spoken and shared. Amen.

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