I was the clergy person who gave a short homily on the faith basis of Interfaith's agenda and methods, and I've just put my comments on my sermon blog. It goes like this:
Reading from the Hebrew Scripture, Nehemiah, Chapter 2, verses 17 & 18 (NRSV):
Then I, Nehemiah, said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace." I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us start building!" So they committed themselves to the common good.
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| Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem by C.F. Vos |
Ladies and Gentlemen, member institutions of Northern & Central Louisiana Interfaith and guest institutions, elected officials and citizen leaders in our communities…
Today you see the trouble we are in! Unlike Jerusalem of Nehemiah’s time, the trouble we are in.. is not wild animals entering the city through burned gates. It is NOT a lack of walls to protect us from marauding enemy tribes.
Rather, today the trouble we are in.. is threats to the availability of affordable health care for all.
Today the trouble we are in is public education that does not prepare too many of our children for college or the workforce—even when they finish high school.
Today the trouble we are in is rising college tuition rates, even as our institutions of higher education struggle to survive deep and devastating budget cuts by cutting middle class jobs, and courses and programs our city and state need to produce the workforce of the future.
Today, the trouble we are in is more and more of our youth stagnating in jail instead of contributing to the common good.
But, my friends, TODAY Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith says, Let us start building!
Read the whole thing here.
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