I WANT TO BE READY

I want to walk in Jerusalem just like John. Here's me yesterday, from out of nowhere, saying that phrase over and over. I remember Tennessee Ernie Ford singing the old spiritual "I Want To Be Ready (to Walk in Jerusalem Just Like John)." 

Then I hear, I wanna walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge just like John. I know that has naught to do with me...me the weak, the meek, the coward, the hidey-hole seeker. 

So I shoot a thankful prayer of peace to John Lewis. Yet I am comforted that my inner self, centered in my consciousness, apparently aspires so high, so deep. 

This morning, Fr Richard Rohr in his "Daily Meditation," has a quote of John Lewis. May it make a home in our head, our heart, our Soul: 

Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Know that the truth always leads to love and the perpetuation of peace. Its products are never bitterness and strife. Clothe yourself in the work of love, in the revolutionary work of nonviolent resistance against evil. Anchor the eternity of love in your own soul and embed this planet with goodness. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don’t be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself. -- The civil rights leader John Lewis (1940–2020)

Thank you.