Gracious and loving God, as African Americans celebrate Juneteenth tomorrow, we give thanks for their hope, their perseverance, and their contributions to the advancement of society. May we remember and act on the words of civil rights leader, professor and theologian Howard Washington Thurman. In his words:
Look well to the growing edge!
All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born.
The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the Earth.
Against a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit.
Such is the growing edge!
This is the basis of hope in moments of despair,
The incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and people have lost their reason,
The source of confidence when worlds crash and dreams whiten to ash.
Look well to the growing edge!
Loving God, may we not close our eyes to the growing edges in our own way of life. May we actively engage in dismantling the systems of injustice that prevent all of us from living in truth and integrity.—AMEN.