"THREE WISE WOMEN: MARY, IDA WELLS, STACEY ABRAMS"

 “ THREE WISE WOMEN: MARY, IDA WELLS, STACEY ABRAMS”

      Battered by the Roman Empire, crushed by a heavy system of corruption and taxation, dominated by a patriarchy that sought to make her a baby-factory only – in this highly charged and oppressive air, a young teen-age engaged to be married, hears a stunning voice that asks her to see a different vision and to proclaim that vision to others.  Not only is he asked to proclaim that vision – she is also asked to embody it by becoming pregnant with the Human One.  To say “yes” is to risk the death penalty, since she will be pregnant by someone other than her husband.  Fortunately for all of us, Mary said “Yes,” and a new vision of hope and possibility was conceived and born into a world of despair and crushing domination.

    In our time of Advent and Christmas two millennia later, we are experiencing some of that same hopelessness and despair.  Many of us were heartened last week when Stacey Abrams officially announced her run for governor of Georgia in 2022. Though she is not the savior, she is an unusually gifted politician, and we sorely need her leadership and vision in Georgia and in the nation.  With the Herod-like Trumpster still looming over us, Stacey’s vision is a powerful opportunity to help us all move past the petty, narcissistic politics which seem to dominate us so much in these days.  If you can support her in any way in these next 11 months, please do so.

    Stacey preached at Oakhurst several times, and she also spoke at my retirement, so I have a special affection for her.  She also agreed to write the Foreword to the book on Ida Wells that Catherine Meeks and I wrote.  Stacey joins Mary as one of the three wise women whom I’m highlighting this week.  The third is Ida B. Wells, and I’ll gratefully borrow from Stacey’s words of part of the Foreword to highlight Ida Wells:

“Because of the witness and work of Ida Wells and those she girded for the fight, we as a nation have made critical progress.  Yet, we find ourselves at a crucial turning point in our history, when the forces that sought to silence her and to re-establish oppression seem to gain strength each day.  From the tragedy of family separations to the glib invocation of nativism, those charged with maintaining our progress have instead reignited the most infernal instincts of past.  In these moments, Passionate for Justice serves as a welcome and timely reminder of  power of witness in our nation’s history. I am grateful to Nibs Stroupe and Catherine Meeks for bringing forth this testimony to the life and ministry of Ida Wells. In this work, they reflect upon the power of Wells’ life, as well as the dynamic of race and gender that sought to limit her and continues to constrict access into the present age. 

I have been awed by Rev. Stroupe during his long and effective ministry at multicultural Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, where he met scripture with action. Together, with the scholarship and insight of Dr. Meeks, they have produced this critical work to help revive the heroism of Ida Wells, not only restoring our understanding of her unflinching example but reminding each of us to find our place in the perennial fight for justice. Through their exposition, we rediscover a model for diminishing those forces of repression and oppression in our individual and communal lives. In her honor, we are called to acknowledge the depth of those oppressive powers in our time, and to be like Wells – to seek a new way of liberty and justice for all.  

Ida Wells confronted the evils of her time with a determination to compel America to live up to its highest ideals. Her example continues to guide the work of millions, including my own, as we in our own ways work to reaffirm the humanity of all and the potential for more. I applaud Nibs and Catherine for their efforts, a robust inquiry that produced such a transformative statement about the meaning of Wells’ life for the twenty-first century. They honor the life of Ida B. Wells, a life carved out of the hard scrabble ground of slavery, white supremacy and oppression of women, especially black women. In Passionate for Justice, we find a compass that points us to the future, where we can each give voice and action to justice, equity and life-giving community.  Ida Wells would have had it no other way.”