Friends,

Fifty degrees in Massachusetts today. But that's okay--it will be snowing this weekend. I move between eager for more skiing, and eager to see flowers and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.

I spent 24 hours in Fort Lauderdale and that was definitely enjoyable.

-Liz

Sleeper, awake!

Have you awakened yet? Are you woke?

Ephesian 5:14b Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

It’s hard to say when “woke” became part of our vocabulary. In the 1850s there were youth “Wide Awakes”—marching clubs supporting the election of Lincoln. They marched at night, in silence, with torches and signs.

In 1923 Marcus Garvey wrote “Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!”. Singer-songwriter Lead Belly (Huddle Ledbetter) told his listeners to “Stay Woke” in his 1938 recording “Scottsboro Boys”. By the mid-20th century people used “woke” to mean well-informed. The New York Times Magazine ran William Melvin Kelly’s araticle “If You’re Woke You Dig It” about the appropriation of black slang by white beatniks.

In 2014, following the shooting of Michael Brown, Black Live Matter activists were saying “stay woke” and the meaning adjusted to mean aware of the systemic and political racism in our nation.

Woke is not just seeing oppression, it is recognizing that oppression is more than a few uncaring or uneducated people saying or doing mean things. Woke suggests an understanding of the underlying systems that perpetuate racism, either intentionally or unintentionally. It grew in usage among black and brown people to describe “waking up” to the reality of our social system in the United States.

It is interesting because we often discuss personal, interpersonal, systemic/institutional, and cultural racism as 4 separate, but integrated forms. Woke crosses those lines—for the most part individuals are woke (or not) but what they have awakened to is the existence and prevalence of the systemic and cultural forms.

It is understanding that Michael Brown was not killed only by a single bad cop, but rather that there is a culture in many police forces, and rules in the judiciary system that set up the support for that single bad cop to act. For many to act.

Jesus, and Paul, advise in favor of being woke. They want people to see what is happening around them. We cannot be part of a Kingdom that offers freedom to the oppressed if we think we just need a few bad apples to be stopped. I remember the Osmonds’ song “One Bad Apple” which suggested that one doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. If you have ever stored Apples to last through the winter then you know that actually, one bad apple does spoil the rest.

Let's Wake up. Be Woke. Be ready.

What is your church doing, or thinking about doing these days? How are you being here in your particular place? Just reply to this email to let me know what's happening.

Scottsboro Boys by Leadbelly with short interview by Smithsonian Folkways recording (4:40).

The Only Way Through is In by singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer (3:57).

Please forward this email to others who might be interested. If you got this from someone else, use the button below to subscribe to the free Act! Be Church Now email newsletter.