God, in your might and power you gave us a book that tells us truth through a bunch of nobodies.
When you tell the story of Hagar, Shiphrah & Puah, the Sultan’s daughter, Miriam and Zipporah you tell us about the “little people” in the world. We don’t even know the name of the Pharaoh’s daughter!
When you reveal the energy, intelligence, imagination and love of Ruth & Naomi and also Esther you report the profound sacredness of the lives of women of color.
“Black Lives are Sacred” attributed to Dr Wil Gafney
Because of these women we stand in prayer every single time we tell the story of persecuted black women, women of color and trans women who are black or brown.
And because women throughout the Bible are unnamed we know, we know the importance of #sayhername.
Breonna Taylor we say your name Oluwatoyin Sakai, Atatiana Jefferson, Latasha Harlins and Sandra Bland we say your name and pray.
And because we know there are even more women who are unnamed victims of police violence, healthcare violence, sexual violence and state violence perpetrated through powerfully neglectful pandemic policy.
The true nobodies in the Bible are those in power kings, pharaohs and religious leaders serve as footnotes to the real everyday lives of the “ordinary” somebodies in the Bible.
As these stories and names echo in my head in between distance learning and working and running errands, help me to take these echoes seriously.
Help me to take each and every echo, and to find the ways to tell these stories to my children, just like the stories in the Bible.
Help me to tell the story meaningfully, fleshing out my black and brown sisters and humans who are fully of life and value. Help me to tell the stories in such a way that they matter.
And empower me to see and stop racism and violence in all of its physical, emotional and political forms, I pray. Make me an interrupter of violence.
I pray this in the presence of the brown, persecuted, imprisoned and murdered man who I am honored to be an adopted sister of, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
katyandtheword 