“Created Whole” – From the Perspective of One of the Central Park Five
Grace to you and peace from God our Creator, from our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and from our Sustainer, the Holy Spirit. Amen
Jesus says this to you and me, 28Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Sound familiar? Sound beautiful? Sound calm? Peaceful? Reassuring? Now listen to this translation – a different kind of translation written by a pastor from the Presbyterian tradition, named Eugene Peterson. Listen carefully. Jesus says this to you and me. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
One translation – “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Another translation – “Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
I was so inspired and humbled by one man’s story in particular this past week. This man who like the Son of Man who came eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners, found his way out of terrible darkness to live freely and lightly – in fact to live resurrected!
Does the Central Park Five ring a bell? This story is about one of the Central Park Five whose name is Yusef Salaam and he just won the Democratic primary election in New York city most likely becoming a member of the city council come January after the mostly Democratic election in the fall. What is most remarkable is that his election comes almost 34 years to the day of his wrongful conviction as one of the Central Park Five. He was only 14 years old at the time when he and four other Black and Latino boys were convicted of the rape and near fatal beating of a 28-year-old jogger in Central Park. Along with the other 4, Yusef was sent to prison and spent the next 7 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. The Central Park Five were exonerated and released from prison in 1997 only after the actual offender, an imprisoned serial rapist, came forward and provided forensic evidence that proved his culpability.
In a televised interview on CBS Mornings, Yusef Salaam said this of his journey from a wrongfully convicted 14-year-old Black boy to the election, “I was born for this.” The interviewer asked, “What do you mean?” He responded, “Everything that happens to you happens for you.” (Now notice – he does not say, everything that happens to you happens for a reason. He doesn’t believe that, and I certainly don’t ascribe to that kind of theology.) “Everything that happens to you happens for you.” He goes on to give an example, “For example, if I get hit from behind by a 2X4, it allows me to develop peripheral vision. Had it not happened (that is me being sent to prison), I would not have been aware that the rug could be pulled out from under me.” He goes on to say, “A lot of us are waiting to live the life God gave us and we’re asking ourselves when to jump in. Well, the time is now. What happened to me is developing me. What happened to me is forming me. I now get the opportunity to reflect light in the most dark places in the world.”
From the prophet Zechariah, our old testament lesson for today, “As for you also, because of the blood of the covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.”
And it’s true! Listen to what Yusef Salaam shares next. He tells the story of Yusef from the Qur’an which is the same story we know about of Joseph in the book of Genesis in the Bible. You see, Yusef happens to be Muslim and he draws Muslims, Jews and Christians into one as he tells this familiar story. “Joseph in the Bible and the Qur’an was accused of a crime he didn’t commit and the crime was rape. He went to prison and he came out of prison and became the greatest statesman in Egypt.” And then he says this, “I was inspired by this story because I was named after the prophet Yusef, the profit Joseph.”
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made…The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.”
Gayle King of CBS This Morning then says this to Yusef Salaam, “You know there’s people out there who don’t believe you and think you should still be in prison.” Yusef responds with this, “You always get judged by the color of your skin and not by the content of your character. Unfortunately, in the black and brown communities when they look at us they say to us, ‘You’re guilty until proven innocent’ when the law, in fact, says just the opposite, ‘you’re innocent until proven guilty.’”
You always get judged…you always get judged – by your what? The color of your skin? Your gender – especially if your gender does not fit into a nice, neat box? Your sexual identity. You always get judged – by what? The amount of money you have? The amount of money you don’t have? The community you live in? The country you are from? You always get judged – by what? The religion you profess? The language you speak? The amount of education you have or don’t have? For whom you vote? You always get judged – by what – the color of your skin?
And when there is only judgment and cruelty and bullying. When there is only poverty and violence and neglect. Then there is nothing left but despair. In the interview with Mr. Salaam it is pointed out that while gun violence in New York is down significantly, the number of youth shooting the guns and the number of youth getting hurt or killed by guns is on the rise. Youth plagued by despair and hopelessness. Yusef says this, “When youth are subject to abject poverty and daily violence, in their minds tomorrow is not promised so they live as recklessly as possible.”
Yet Yusef, the prophet and Zechariah, the prophet don’t end with hopelessness. Their prophecies don’t end in despair. From the prophet Zechariah, “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore you double.” And from Yusef, the black, Muslim, once incarcerated, once wrongly convicted, now exonerated, soon-to-be elected city council member, husband, father and prophet, teaches us this, “I was raised as a child to see every single man as one who could be my father, my brother, my son, and I was raised as a child to see every single woman as one who could be my mother, my sister, my daughter. Automatically that sets the level of respect that I am supposed to give and be given.”
From the prophet, Zechariah, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! (and I add, “You, my precious child, are created whole. You are created beautiful just as you are! God embraces you as a wonderful gift to the world just as you are!) And from Zechariah, “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The Lord comes to you freely and lightly, resurrected to walk with you, to celebrate with you.
Let’s end where we began. Yes – with words of comfort and hope, but also with words of celebration and joy for the new life in Christ that is yours. From that new translation of today’s gospel:
Jesus says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Amen.