St. Mark the Monk

“Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled underfoot by all and despised, accepting injustice, contempt and mockery; unless he undergoes all these things with joy for the sake of the Lord, not claiming any kind of human reward whatsoever – glory or honor or earthly pleasures – he cannot become a true Christian”

This is a quote by the Orthodox Father, St. Mark the Monk. I love this quote, and I think it rings true. Christianity is the process by which we learn to renounce all things save One, and to will this one thing is the purity which we all seek.

This Broken Child

I just feel so torn. caught between two things, wondering, waiting, feeling exhausted as i sit here another night, contemplating my life, thinking of what could have been. I was ready to embrace what should have been, but in the end nothing is really as it seems, and so i’m on my way with empty dreams.

I thought it would get better over time, and came to find myself in line for just another lame excuse, now i feel i wear a noose, and tonight i am broken. Tonight, you win. I don’t know if that’s your aim or not but you have reached it.

Screw bad poetry, you fuck with me. End of story.

I’m just tired, and I don’t know what the hell you want from me.

Is it faith? Is it piety? Is it love thy neighbor?

Whatever. I’m done. Holy blessed Trinity, forgive me my arrogance and malice, bless this tender child who beats his fist against his chest and cries “Injustice!”

Forgive the scandal I make, for I know that you alone embrace this broken child.

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness: Oppression in America

New York City Today:

We are still oppressed in America. We are still captives to the State, to oppression and injustice.

Oh, well well, here we go again…more bullshit from the State. If you’ve been following this case like I have, you should be outraged.

A man, not just any man, but a black man gets shot 50 times, count that, 50 times. Not 5, 50. 50 times a man is shot, that’s not just injustice, it is sacrilege. That the state would acquit those responsible is a blatant disrespect for human life and justice. New York, you are guilty of perjury, fraudulence of Justice, and oppression. You are being held accountable for the life of a man who was about to be married, a future father, a son to a mother, to a father, a future husband, a close friend. You are being held responsible for the crimes you have committed. You have withheld Justice, and thrived on the fat of the rich, you have sided with the oppressors and forsaken Justice. You have ignored the pleas of the needy, and the desolate, you have made yourself an enemy to Truth, and to Righteousness.

This is not just about what sounds good. This is about respect for a human being. Is it racially motivated? I can’t say, but I do believe they were not charged with the mutilation of a body, nor were the officers held accountable for anything. Sean Bell was gunned down using 50 bullets from three officers, one White, one Black and one Hispanic.

Exodus 23:6 : <!– 6 –>You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.

Sean Bell was gunned down on his wedding day, it could have been any other day and it would be just as wrong, but this is intolerable. The acquitted officers may have made a mistake, but it is one that they should be held accountable for. Justice requires retribution, and these officers regardless of excuses need to be removed from the force at the very least, New York’s finest, I’m sorry but with these standards any memory of heroics is invalidated, any longing for honor among the force as a whole slips right out the window. These three men need to answer for their sins. Not only them but the Judges as well.

“We are all Sean Bell” the demonstrators shouted. “-http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23663924-38198,00.html?from=public_rss

Deuteronomy 16:19 You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

I think that we have seen a radical injustice, and that the state would arrest the Rev. Al Sharpton for standing for justice shows the oppressive nature of the state. Traffic should be blocked, civil and respectful protest is encouraged. This case cannot go by unnoticed. People of America, and the World, I encourage you to stand for Justice, love good, hate evil.

The Prophet Amos reminds us in the 5th chapter of his book:

¹⁴Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said.
¹⁵Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;

…

²⁴But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

To a voice crying out in the wildernesss of an unjust State, Let Justice flow like rivers, to the judges in power, to the attorneys and the police force, let righteousness reign like an ever flowing stream. I am in support of all non-violent resistance, let America hear us.

As the Great St. Martin Luther King once said:

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. [1]

Many thanks to: http://vegannramember.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/we-are-all-sean-bellnypd-go-to-hell

for the pictures.

All Bible Quotes taken from NRSV translation.

The Yahoo News Website Link:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080507/ap_on_re_us/police_shooting

[1] Steve Mount Presents: Martin Luther King Jr. “The I Have a Dream Speech” USConstitution.net. 14 Jan. 2008. http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html 05 May 2008.