Racism, White Privilege and Black Lives Matter

“As I see it”

Racism, White Privilege and Black Lives Matter

Live from Lynn, it’s “Godspell”.

Hello, this is Fr Paul Bresnahan, priest of the Episcopal Church.

It has been a few weeks since we last visited. I took a break for Father’s Day and some  family time.

Welcome back to “Godspell”: a time to spell it out.

Who is God, and how is God involved in our lives?

“Godspell” is a nice old English word for the Gospel or, what I call, the language of God, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Silence

Blessed be God; The Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. 

And blessed be God’s Kingdom for ever and ever. Amen

Collect at a time of Conflict: 

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us,

in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront

one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work

together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus

Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42

Jesus said; ’Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

In the Name of God; The Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen

Friends I begin a new segment today; “As I see it”; Racism, White Privilege and Black Lives Matter

While I was the rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Euclid, Ohio in 1983-1990, the question of Integration came up in the city schools. The Clergy Association wanted to avoid the subject. So the Black Baptist Minister, The Rabbi and and I went to work on a collaborative effort. Yes I know; “the minister the rabbi and the priest” sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. Well we did have fun together. We took on the school committee, the city government and yes, in the end we integrated the public schools peacefully. Each of us, by the way had children in the system, so we put ourselves and our families on the line.

There is always an undercurrent of Racism going on in every corner of life and at all levels of society. Once Sunday just before the Eucharist, a parishioner approached me seething with contempt; “You G. D. Irish, you’re just an N-word turned inside out.” I was somewhat taken aback, but thankfully I did have the presence of mind to thank him for the compliment. 

Racism friends. We were brought up with it and live in it as a reality. My grandmother played the N-word pool. Nowadays that is called the State Lottery. The N-word and other epithets were used frequently. After my mother re-married and we became solidly middle class; my step-father who was an executive in a major corporation used to say “Why don’t those lazy epithet deleted go to work?” and then almost in the same breath he’d say “I would’t hire one of those lazy epithet deleted to work for me!” I did have the presence of mind to challenge him saying “How then can a black man get a job in your world?” 

Racism is alive and well in our whole white world.

Therefore, especially in the context of this moment in history I would like to begin by speaking with you my white friends about White Privilege. You may or may not realize it but we are all children of extraordinary entitlement.

In my case alone let me describe where I began my journey as a child of White Privilege. To be sure, it was a modest beginning in a Blue Collar family on a single parent’s income.

My mom did have a full time job with full benefits including health care, sick leave and paid vacation. She worked payroll in a bank and was paid a different pay scale than men doing the same work. She was told the men had families to support. My mother asked: “What do you think I have; sliced liverwurst?” This often repeated story led me to become a feminist of sorts if you want to call me that.

We had three squares and a roof over our heads. There were two grocery stores within walking distance of our home. My mom eked out enough to buy a modest house in a working class neighborhood in West Somerville which is close to Boston where she worked. 

We had outstanding health care. We had a family doctor and when there were health issues we all went to Massachusetts General Hospital. That’s la crème de la crème of health care in the United States.

Our schools required the best of us. There were good teachers, new text books and clean buildings. We were instilled with confidence in our future and we were disciplined firmly but fairly. 

On the matter of public safety, the police were there to serve and protect us. Jimmy the cop knew us by name and if there were scrapes with the law, he’d take us by the ear to the house where we received yet more discipline. He was one of us. All of our police were one of us in those days. Irish ones of us. On the way home from school Jimmy often gave us a few M&M’s and stopped the traffic to make it safe for us to cross busy Somerville Avenue. We all loved Jimmy because he loved us. Perhaps you are beginning to see where I am coming from and where I am headed with this notion of White Privilege. 

The bus to Lechmere station was a block away. We had access to the entire subway system that could take us to the Beach, all the Boston Museums or to downtown shopping. All within a short walk away. We were welcome everywhere. It was all ours. 

We were free go to the public parks and play in safety. While we had to be street smart, we never had to fear anything like drug dealers or serious crime of any sort. That kind of thing was unheard of then. 

We all paid our taxes. During the Eisenhower years the Rich paid a whole chunk of taxation, far more than they pay now.

All this was a given. Good Jobs. Good Food. Excellent Health Care. Good Public Education. Cops who cared. Good public transportation. Free Access to Parks and Recreation, Beaches and cultural enrichment. And the Rich paid their taxes and paid the bulk of the bill.

Listen up my fellow white folks. All of this is denied. Let me repeat; All of this is systemically denied to Black folks, people of color and other minority people. As to Native folks, they didn’t even get that far but were herded off to reservations to fend for themselves. To be sure there has been some progress. But to be very sure the vast majority our our sisters and brothers of color have been been given the very short end of the stick.

We’ve been down this road before. Race riots are nothing new in America. The Tulsa event is just one of many. After the Chicago Race Riots of 1919, a panel of 6 blacks and 6 whites met to make sure this would never happen again. In that case, a black teenager went swimming and strayed into the white section of a beach in Lake Michigan. He was stoned and drowned. The police refused to arrest anybody. Riots ensued. Pent up rage burst forth. The final report of 1921 urged us to be fair to black folks and make sure they had jobs, health care, decent housing and good public education. You guessed it. Nothing happened. Chicago and other American cities continue on their merry de facto segregated way denying the basics of what White Privilege gives to us as a matter of course.

For Black Lives to Matter we white folks need to step up to the plate and make sure Black Lives Matter. I know All Lives Matter. But when you say that to me, you’re letting yourselves off the hook. We cannot say All Lives Matter until we put some heft into the words Black Lives Matter. We cannot erase 400 years of slavery, Jim Crow, and systemic racism without making things right.

If you want Peace here’s what’s going to happen. You must step up to the plate and provide Justice first. Here is a partial prescription.

One. You must provide good paying jobs to everyone in this country who wants to work. The rate of pay must be at least twice the poverty rate. After all the years of slavery, this is the least you can do. Make sure everybody has a good job. This means all poor folks in Appalachia too who have been sold a bill of goods by that New York snake oil salesman. The rate of unemployment in the Coal Fields of West Virginia still remains near 70%. 

Two. Make sure there are Black owned, Black managed and Black staffed grocery stores in every inner city neighborhood. Same thing in Appalachia and all of rural America…local ownership, management and staff.

Three. Provide good housing throughout America. Locally owned, built by local tradesmen and women. 

Four. Make sure everyone has first rate health care. Period.

Five. Provide first rate public schools. Led by and taught by people from the neighborhoods. 

Six. Rethink Public Safety. As a priest of 48 years, I’ve had to do”pa-lenty” of soul searching every step of the way. At the very least the police should be from and live in the neighborhoods they serve and protect. 

Seven. Provide good public transportation to make sure everyone can get to work, shop, cultural attractions, parks and recreation and churches, synagogues, and mosques. 

Eight. Provide nice Parks and Beaches and Cultural enrichment for all.

Nine. You may ask; how are we going to pay for all this? That really is quite easy. You pay for it. In your taxes. There was a time when rich folks paid their fair share and it wasn’t all that long ago. In the fifties during the Eisenhower Administration, you rich folks ponied up big time and there was a redistribution of wealth from the rich to the rest of us. 

It is time again for you to pony up. After 400 years of slavery and oppression all we are asking for is a fair shake. Did you notice? Jesus said so in today’s Gospel; “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

When I was growing up, one income provided for all the necessities of life; housing, food, education, health care, vacations and so on. I could work summers and pay for my tuition and housing. No more. The Reagan “trickle down” sleight of hand has hood winked us all into quiescence. Now we’re working two and three jobs just to tread water. The harder we work the further behind we get.

This is the essence of the Green New Deal but I hasten to add we cannot merely ask for it politely. We will have to “take it”. One thing I do know about White Power is that mere moral suasion is not sufficient to effect change. We have known the difference between right and wrong for a very long time. And still we traded in human lives as if they were property. If anyone knows about “taking” what’s theirs it would be the Irish. We simply took over the government and it was ours!

No. It is time for us to vote. Black and white, rich and poor, male female and every orientation in the rainbow, young and old alike. Honorable and decent people everywhere must be done with this national nightmare that has so clouded the good name of America to make us the Pariah among Nations. 

So listen up all you who have taken to the streets. Keep it up. Don’t let up for a minute. March, organize and vote and then as the Good Book says; “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” ~Amos 5:24

In the Name of God; the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity.

Amen.

Prayers for the Church and the World.

I ask you prayers for Jackie Smith Miller form First Parish Church in Duxbury. She had a massive stroke last night and is not expected to live beyond today. Peace be upon her and may light Perpetual shine upon her. 

And for Nicolina recovering from surgery in North Caroline. Please say a word for her too.

Lord’s Prayer

A Blessing

See that ye be at peace among yourselves, 

and love one another.

Follow the example of the wise and good

and God will comfort you and help you,

both in this world

and in the world which is to come.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,

wherever He may send you.

May He guide you through the wilderness,

protect you through the storm.

May He bring you home rejoicing

at the wonders He has shown you.

May He bring you home rejoicing

once again into our doors.

And may the Blessing of God the Most holy undivided and everlasting Trinity be upon you this day and always. Amen.

God  Bless us everyone!

Fr Paul

Reconciliation between the Oppressor and the Oppressed

A Matter of Life and Death

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago in a faraway land of Cleveland, Ohio when I was the rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Euclid, Ohio, there was a young man who left his Ohio home to go to work in West Virginia. There were problems at home. In many ways he was a troubled youth. He came to church on occasion though. When he did, I could tell by the way he looked at me at the altar rail that he was in pain. When he left, I wrote him a note. In it I said that no matter what happened, remember this one thing, “I believe in you. More importantly, God believes in you. I know you will find your way.” 

Years passed. When I found myself at St. Mark’s Church, in Saint Albans, West Virginia, there he was one Sunday. He was all grown up with a family of his own now. At the coffee hour he came up to me and said;

“Remember this?”

With that, he opened his well worn wallet and there was a tattered, water stained crumpled up note that he very carefully unfolded. It was falling apart at the folds. It was my handwriting, but honestly, I had forgotten that I had written that note. He told me that whenever he was discouraged, and there were many times that happened, he would open up that note and he remembered what I had said, and he then called God to heart and prayed. 

You never know what small gesture of kindness may touch another human being’s heart. But each of you, whether you know it or not is making a difference. You may never know it. But your expressions of loving kindness can make all the difference in a human life. Another former parishioner likes to say; “Make America kind again!” Likewise, if you are not so kind, or are a little too quick with hasty words, you can leave a world of hurt behind you.

It really is a matter of life and death; the way we live. You and I both know that. There are a hundred ways for us to live good fruitful and productive lives in a way that glorifies God and is of service to all the men, women and children.  Those we love so much and perfect strangers too. 

There are also hundreds of ways for humankind to destroy God’s creation and God’s creatures; both ourselves and others. It really comes down to the fundamental choices we make each day, the choices whether we wish to add abundance to human life or to take away from it.

Every Sunday we pray the Collect of the Day. As the service begins, it is time for collective prayer. We take a moment to gather ourselves, and pray in summary what God is teaching the Church through the Scriptures. The very first English Book of Common Prayer was written by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1549 and it contained these magnificent prayers. They are an anthology of spiritual wisdom that has come down to us from the ages. 

Today’s Collect admits the truth about us; “in our weakness we can do nothing good thing without you.” Isn’t that the truth! So where are we to turn for help but to God? The collect continues; “give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed”. 

The collect of the day expresses the wisdom of today's scripture themes.

The First Lesson from the Book of Deuteronomy says “obey the commandments of the Lord your God…by loving the Lord your God and walking in his ways” and “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live”. To obey God is to choose life. The commandments are God's notes of encouragement to us. 

The Psalmist says; “Happy are they who observe God’s decrees and who seek God with all their hearts!”

My namesake, Paul, had problems with a factious congregation in the seaport town of Corinth. Truth be told each of us has a different part to play in building up the Body of Christ in this or any congregation, in this or any diocese, in this or any denomination. Paul continues; “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

In the midst of conflict Jesus’ provides the following instructions in today’s Gospel “if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift”

Reconciliation! Paul reminds the church in Corinth that there is this business of reconciliation. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he says; “God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.” After all it is in Jesus’s death that the dividing wall between us has been broken down. “All of this is from God who has given us the ministry of reconciliation”. Paul claims that Jesus has made peace by the cross. He paid the price for our sins. Therefore, let us be reconciled to God and to one another.

“There is the way that leads to life and the way that leads to death”. That’s the opening line of the oldest document of the church after the New Testament material. I have often used “The Didache” as it is called with teenagers because that’s when kids often play with danger thinking they are immortal. Folks we can get hurt. Folks, we can live and we can die. The sooner we learn to make the choice to live, the better for us all.

It is a matter of life and death the choices we make as individuals, as churches, as nations and so forth and so on. All we have to do is look around or study history. It is all there plain as day.

You and I are here today because we have chosen life. Whatever sins cling still close, we nonetheless choose life each day. I suspect that we have a long, long way to go to reach perfection. Sometimes you and I can get quite discouraged.

But someone may write a note to us that we will hold precious. We will carry human and Godly kindness, folded up in our hearts wherever we go. In fact God has written a note to you. God knows exactly how you feel. God has been there in the joy of Christmas, in the Temptations of the wilderness, in the heartaches of those who are sick or dying. God knows what it is like to be rejected and finally God knows what it is like to suffer and die!

But I do have good news for you. Wonderful news! You are forgiven. The big sins, those things you're still ashamed of; Forgiven! Even all those everyday bad habits you haven't gotten around to facing. It is all Forgiven. So bear fruit of one who is loved of God and forgiven of all your sins! 

There is the problem of oppression however.

We can make no peace with oppression

If it is true that Jesus came to bring Good News to the poor. ~Luke 4:18

If it is true that "inasmuch as we do it to one of the least of these, we do it to Jesus" ~Matthew 25:31ff

Then it follows that we will be reconciled to all. But we cannot be reconciled to oppression.

We must be peacemakers. 

But we cannot make peace with oppression.

Reconciliation remains necessary between the oppressor and the oppressed. 

It is the ethical mandate of God that the oppressor take responsibility for justice.

If not, it becomes our to duty to see that justice is done. 

It is all written down for us in notes of encouragement, kindness, wisdom and faith. We call those precious notes the Holy Bible. We read substantial part of it every single week. God continues to write notes of forgiveness and love in our hearts every moment we draw breath. This is the way to life for anyone, for any congregation, for any nation, and for the world we live in. 

God demands justice!

It really is a matter of life and death.

In the Name of God, the Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul.

Thine is the Parlor!

Thine is the Parlor!

We began our journey together two weeks ago during this Advent season thinking about God's Winnowing Fork. Last week, you may remember, I shared some thoughts with you about being "Grounded in God". This week let us remember what we can of those first moments we had with God back whe we were much younger. My thoughts go to the front parlor in our modest working class home in Somerville.

The front room was saved for special. My grandmother called it the parlor. The “divan" and the overstuffed chair in the corner were covered except for company. They needed to be protected for special, especially the chair in the corner.  We were not allowed to sit there.

When the Minister came to our home that one unforgettable time, we hastily prepared the parlor and of course, the covers were quickly removed. Soon the kettle was pipin’ hot, the biscuits and baked goods were fresh out of the oven and smelling of savory goodness. It was such an honor for us to have him come to our home. He sat of course in the corner chair and spoke to us one at a time and then he came to me. He asked me to come to him, sat me up on his knee and he said; “And you, young man, how are you doing?” I’ve never forgotten it.

It was as if God had spoken to me. 

It was as if God cared how I felt. 

I was filled with awe.

When we said that special prayer in church, you know, the one Jesus taught us, it was before I could read or write, but I knew the prayer by heart nonetheless. I prayed what I heard. When we came to that magnificent doxology at the conclusion of the prayer, I said it with reverence along with the others, “for thine is the kingdom, and the parlor, and the glory.” Yes, I said “parlor”. That's what I heard when the others said it and it made sense to me. The parlor is such a very special place. For it was in the parlor that the Priest took me up on his knee to ask how I was. It was as if I had been touched by the hand of God.

You can imagine my disappointment when I learned to read and discovered that the word was “power” and not “parlor”. Good heavens, what a letdown. To me the kingdom of God must be a very special place like our parlor where God sat enthroned in his overstuffed chair in the corner. Imagine such a special place! This is still how I dream of God. 

When our collect for this day says “purify our conscience by thy daily visitation”, that makes sense to me.  (~Book of Common Prayer page 212).  It goes on to say "when Jesus comes to us may he find in us a 'mansion' prepared for himself". That makes perfect sense too!  May we make our souls pure and ready for him just like we do our parlor in Somerville, or your parlor in Dorchester.

The human soul is the perfect dwelling place for God. St Augustine tells us that the human soul cannot come to rest until it comes to rest in God. We are to be more than a parlor. We are to be a "mansion" prepared for him so that by that by God’s daily visitation we may be made pure. 

“In my Father’s house there are many Mansions” aren’t there! That’s what John’s Gospel proclaims in fourteenth chapter. Isn’t it a glorious thing to know that Jesus visits us every single day and not just when the Priest finds time in his or her busy schedule to stop by for a cup of tea and fresh baked biscuits. 

This business of God’s daily visitation makes of us, each one of us, something holy, something beautiful for God. We may or may not be so beautiful to the human eye, especially in my case; but in the eyes of God we are a magnificent work of art! You and I are in God’s Museum of Fine Art just over there on Huntington Avenue in the Fenway! It is as if Jesus has all the time in the world to take us each one of us on his knee to ask; “And you, how are you today?”

Truth be told, some days I have to confess the truth; “Not so good Jesus”. There is much sadness in this world. There is injustice. We see our loved ones suffer and then taken from us. The tears pour from our eyes. Our hearts are broken so many times. Often, we see our hopes dashed by the cruelty of history. We see the poor ground up by oppression. The greed of injustice seems to reign even in this land. We are supposedly dedicated to “freedom and justice for all”. The pledge of allegiance we make in our schools is for all. Why then is it that so often it seems to apply only to some?  Sometimes we simply have to tell Jesus the truth, “You want to know how I’m doing? Not so good, Jesus. Not so good.” Today the Psalmist puts it this way (Psalm 80, BCP page 702);

“5 You have fed us with the bread of tears; *

you have given us bowls of tears to drink.

6 You have made us the derision of our neighbors, *

and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts; *

show us the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.”

But God will not abandon us will he? The Prophet comes into our midst and reminds us that God is with us. Using unforgettable imagery, Isaiah tells us today; “God will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Immanuel; that means God is with us. It is as though God were to come right smack dab into the front parlor of our souls. The souls we have prepared for him. He comes in and sits down in that overstuffed chair by his daily visitation. He calls us each by name and sits us right up on his knee and says; “How are you, Child?” “Don’t forget, I love you?” “Let me wipe the tears from your eyes.”

Yes, “Thine is the kingdom and the parlor, and the Glory for ever and ever. Amen” When we become discouraged by reading the newspapers or watching the news, and by God, that can be down right depressing, God comes to us not just as a Child but as a Teacher, a Healer and as one whose Victory on the Cross conquers all sin and all death. 

Plus, I have news for all those who think theirs is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Boy, do they have a rude awakening coming! I’m sure that Caesar Augustus and Herod thought that theirs was the kingdom and the power and the glory, didn’t they? That dark and dangerous world was the same world the Christ Child was born into. Born of a human mother, in a rude little manger, with cows and sheep gathered about. There was no fancy parlor for our Jesus even of the sort we had growing up in Somerville or Dorchester. He had nothing, except for the gifts that were brought to him from the Arabian East. Talk about foreigners!

As he grew up he healed the sick, he cured the lame, he ate with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes. He didn’t shy away from the lepers or any outcasts of the day. He even preached to the Good News to the detested Samaritan foreigner. He preached good news to the poor. He spoke truth to the powerful; particularly the biblical literalists the day; Pharisees, Sadducees and the Doctors of the Law. He raised the dead to life and even forgave the sins of many including the woman caught in the very act of adultery. Then, most difficult of all, he told us to love our enemies.

He changed the world, this Jesus did. And so did his followers. The power of his Gospel has reached from that time to this. All the way around the world. His love, his forgiveness, compassion and reconciling power, has embedded itself in the human heart all around the world. The Word of God endures and spreads unabated. 

And where is Caesar now? Or Herod. Isn't it interesting, by the way, that Jesus picked that part of the world to be born, live and die. Rome came and went. So have the Barbarians, Iconoclasts and terrorists of the day. The Carolingians, The Ottomans and The Western Colonial Empires and everything in between. They've all come and gone. Hitler’s heinous hatred and all other hateful ones before and since where are they? 

What of this country? God help us! Have we seen a rise in hatred in recent years in this country? Have we seen the rise of prejudice and fear? The tired old divisions never go away do they? Fears based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender and orientation never go away. In spite of the fact that we have grown up in a land that has taught us to celebrate our diversity, somehow the old fears, the old hatreds rear their ugliness once again and especially during the recent election. 

I hate to be the one to break it to any who set themselves up in power based on hateful speech, but they’ve sewn their own ruin right within the infection of their own hearts. Not to name names of course! But hear this; theirs in not the kingdom, the power and theirs is certainly not the glory.  The more they try to grasp onto their kingdoms, their powers and their supposed glory, the more it slips through their fingers like sand. 

We’ve seen what happens to that pitiful and hateful young man whose violence left death in the wake of his assaults at a bible study in South Carolina. His hatred merely returned back upon himself. Those he tried to terrorize, turned their fear back toward him with the love of God, the power of Christ's forgiveness and the reconciling power of The Holy Spirit. The pitiful one takes his hatred with him to his eternal reward. How sad for him.

As for those who build their power on arrogance, bullying, fear and hatred; they will also have their day. I'm here to tell you, God will have his day too. Jesus said; "By their fruits you will know them!" 

I will not be silent at a time of hatred. I've heard the those ringing words of Martin Luther King too many times to be silent in a time of deep darkness. We must all double down on the work that lies ahead of us to stay true to God's high calling to be faithful; 

Just a few of the things he said...just as a refresher for me at least if not for all of us. I'm sure you are familiar with so many of his words.

For instance;

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that." 

Here's a few that strike close to my heart;

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal." 

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." 

This one I love;

"Only in the darkness can you see the stars."

What we are to do just now may not be clear. That clarity will emerge as we move forward, but forward we must move. Again Martin Luther King said;

"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."

And this;

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." 

The Gospel tells us that in this dark world of sin a savior is born. In the darkest time of the year, in darkest times of human history, hatred and violence, God will come and dwell among us. He will be born in your hearts again. That’s what Christmas is for. Love came down at Christmas. 
And love trumps hatred all down through human history.
(The word "trump" as used here is a verb not a proper name. Parenthetically, there is nothing 'proper' about that name!)

Empires come, empires go, but the Word of our God endures forever. "For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have beheld his glory, the glory as of the only Begotten Son of God." ~John 3:16. 

"For thine is the Kingdom, and the parlor, and the Glory", as I used to say it as a child.

But then I was corrected, and rightly so.

"For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever." Amen.

In the Name of God, the Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul