Presbyterian leader offers encouragement in the midst of turbulent times

LOUISVILLE — In the face of national and international turmoil, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins offered encouragement Wednesday to those who may be feeling weary about the state of humanity.

Hawkins, advocacy director for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), spoke during a midweek chapel service for staff members of the Unified Agency of the PC(USA). 

The online service honored the life and witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and paid tribute to other notable figures, including Renee Nicole Good, a mother fatally wounded by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer recently in Minnesota.  

Image

Using scripture from Matthew and Micah, Hawkins stressed the importance of nonviolence and noted various crises in the world, from suffering in Myanmar, Gaza, Haiti and beyond to economic struggles and unjust immigration enforcement closer to home.

“Everything is out of sorts, with many of us asking, how do we respond in the face of overwhelming odds when the power and violence of the federal government is acting so brutally, without regard for human rights and dignity, and as important, how do we keep our spirits resonating with positive energy? How do we muster the faith to remain in the struggle?” Hawkins asked.

One way, he said, is by turning to music, a tool that soothed the souls of civil rights legends like King and Paul Robeson during the struggle for Black freedom.

“When our souls are weary, let us wrap ourselves with music that speaks to our spirit and strengthens our resolve,” Hawkins said. “Listen to a little Public Enemy, ‘Fight the Power,’ Kendrick Lamar, ‘Alright,’ or our favorite hymn, ‘Amazing Grace,’ or a spiritual, ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,’ just to take a break in order to be refreshed for the never-ending march towards justice.”

Hawkins, who oversees the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, went on to say that protest is the music of faith and energizes faith. He also explained how advocacy and Christianity are intertwined.

“To follow Jesus means to be engaged in the movement for justice,” he said. “There is a connection with the divine purpose when we offer ourselves for the benefit of others. That's why charity makes us feel so good — to be blessed to know that we have helped someone else, albeit temporarily — but advocacy offers a long-term solution, when our protest leads to ICE being removed from our streets, when the war against the Palestinian people is really over and Palestinians are free to govern their own lives, when racial prejudice is not disguised as civil rights … When the trans community can serve openly in society and the church, and when global poverty becomes the enemy to be overcome.”

As witnesses of Jesus Christ, “we continue to pray, to watch, to speak and then to act,” Hawkins said. “We raise the voice of a God who demands justice and mercy and compassion for the stranger, for the poor, for children, for the sick, the marginalized, the homeless and the incarcerated.”

Regarding the need for peace, he said, “We are called to follow the words of Jesus, to put our sword back into its place and to understand that violence has no place in God's kingdom.”

After briefly returning to his musical theme, he concluded by saying, “We are indeed following our faith and doing everything that we can to echo the words of Jesus Christ, who said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, your God with all of your heart, mind and soul, and to dare to love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness issued an Action Alert, “Lawless Law Enforcement and the Militarization of ICE,” on Friday. You can read it and take action here.