My children and I together watched the film, Selma, Lord, Selma as we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. The film tells the story through the eyes of a 9-year-old African-American girl named Sheyann Webb. Throughout the movie, my children kept asking, "Why?"
"Why are they so mean to Dr. King?" Grace asked.
"Why does he have to keep marching?" Esther asked.
I tried to answer their questions. But some questions were too painful to answer...
One night a friend of Sheyann's named Jimmie Lee Jackson is killed. Not long after that Sheyann's beloved pastor and friend from North, Jonathan Daniels, is also killed. Nevertheless, they keep marching on together. For me personally, one of the most moving scenes is their hymn singing as they are marching. They sing with love. They sing by faith. They sing in hope.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
Jimmie let his light shine and passed it on to Jonathan. Sheyann let her light shine and passed it on to her family. The little light of theirs kindled a fire of love for the civil rights movement.
This past Sunday Joyce shared how Jesus came to us to be the light of our life and how he makes us whole because of our shadow, not in spite of it during the Hogdon Family Worship. You can watch the service at this link.
In our life journey we may ask many "why" questions. We may not get the answer we are hoping for. Instead, we hear Jesus calling, "Come and see." Once we experience Jesus, we cannot but tell our people, "Come and see", though we may still have unresolved questions and problems in life. This is a life of the disciple - Peter, Andrew, Philip, Nathanael... you and me. You can read the entire Sunday service message at this link. You can also watch the Sunday services of the Houlton UMC and Mars Hill UMC.
I am so grateful for our journey together. Let us keep marching, keep singing, keep shining, as we see the Day approaching.
Cheering for you,
Pastor Victor
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