Let America Be America Again Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Let America Be America Again

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? 
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free?  Not me?
Surely not me?  The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!

If you know me at all, you know that one of the passions of my life, beyond my faith and my family and friends, is lacrosse.  This article I found on "LaxAllStars" is by one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time, Casey Powell, who writes about one of the other greatest lacrosse players of all time, Gary Gait.  It's a great article, and to me, shows the way two of the greats honor the game!

~Peter+

Casey Powell: The Art of Air Gait

By

 Casey Powell

 in "LaxAllStars" -

 June 28, 2017 

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I went to my first Syracuse lacrosse game in 1988 when I was 12-years old. That’s when I saw my first ‘Air Gait.’

The Orange were playing in the NCAA semi-finals at the Carrier Dome against the University of Pennsylvania in front of 20,148 people. Syracuse was down 2-1 in the second quarter and looking for a big play to rally behind.

Gary Gait caught a pass behind the cage, revved his engine, and took off like Superman from point behind to dunk the ball over the crossbar like 4th year NBA superstar Michael “Air” Jordan, would dunk a basketball. Gary Gait had tied the game at 2 and woke the spirit of the Orange . . . 

Read it all HERE at LaxAllStars or on Casey Powell's own blog, TwosLetter at http://caseypowell.com

Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

On the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, I thought it was altogether appropriate to post a few photos from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, otherwise known as Washington Cathedral, and also otherwise known as the National Cathedral.

Having spent some wonderful time at the cathedral and the Cathedral Close, it is near and dear to my heart.

Blessings!

~Peter+

Collect of the Day: Peter and Paul

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Augustine on St. Peter and St. Paul

Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles' blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.

St. Augustine (Sermon 295)

St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Cathedral Road

25 June 2017 ~ Sermon by the Rev. Peter M. Carey ~ St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia

The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Rector, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Cathedral Road, Philadelphia

Sermon 25 June 2017

“Write down everything he says.” was the advice given to me by students older than me who had spent time with the intimidating Dr. George Motolanez, as I prepared to enter 10th grade World History Class.  Ok, I thought, I will just take notes like crazy, and then read and memorize them and spit them back to him on tests.  However, you can probably guess that this was terrible advice.  George, as I later was allowed to call him, spoke in metaphorical and poetical language, and his thinking and speaking is what today we would call “non-linear” in an extreme way.  George taught us much about history, and still more about being an upstanding and compassionate person.  However, you had to sort through the language to find the wisdom among the many stories, tangents, and (sometimes) tirades!

[Jesus continues to prepare his disciples for their work and mission in the world, and in today’s reading, he picks up right where he left off last week ad he continues to paint the picture that there will surely be challenges along this pathway.]

Today’s Gospel is full of both advice and caution, and Jesus uses poetical and metaphorical language to illustrate his points.

To my ears, this reading gets me distracted because of Jesus’ own colorful language about how to deal with those who will challenge and ridicule the disciples.  Secondly, I become distracted by Jesus’ even more striking language about “bringing a sword” that will cause argument and conflict within beloved members of families.

In considering Jesus’ advice and admonitions to his disciples in the first part of this reading, we would do well to try to enter into the world of Jesus, and the world of his disciples.  Living within the occupied land of Palestine, these Jews were under pressure and abuse by the Romans just for living out their faith.  Honoring the Jewish traditions would be a challenge, and contending with the militaristic Romans would be disheartening.  Jesus arrives on the scene and gives them a new hope and a new understanding of God’s outpouring of love for them.  

“Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows”, and also that ““Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”  

Like any good mentor, Jesus paints a picture with both dark and light, he shows them both sides of the coin, and prepares them for both the ease of the downhills, as well as the struggles of the uphills.  

The love of God knows no bounds, and is radically rooted in ultimate hospitality and welcome.  Welcoming all can be a challenge to our expectations and experiences.  Jesus’ notion of love is at the heart of his message.  In John’s gospel he proclaims “God is love.”  And the love of God brings liberation, hope, radical welcome, and amazing grace.  However, in abiding and living in the love of God, we enter into a new kind of association.  No longer are we merely associated with our most obvious identity.  

Jesus is empowering us to move into an entire new identity, based in a radical love for all.  Just think: “love thy enemies,” “pray for those who persecute you,” “turning the other cheek,” and “taking up your cross.”  These are not the mottos of one who wants to keep things “they way they have always been.”  These are not the sayings of one who wants us to cling to our comfortable notions of our world, our communities, and our world.  For these disciples, following Jesus would cause tension in even their family relations.  

“For I have come to set a man against his father,

and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.”

I have to say that this message of Jesus has long distracted me from the deeper truth.  The reality is that Jesus is laying out a new reality, a reality in which God’s love is primary, and the Family of God is our most important association.  The old patriarchy and matriarchy of First Century Palestine are thrown on their head by this Gospel of Love.

“Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” A divine hope, a divine paradox, divine love outpouring for us through sacrificial love for one another.  As we share the love, we receive it tenfold.  As we turn over all we are to God’s blessing and care, we receive even more.  We are welcomed into a new community, a new family of love and welcome.  This is good news indeed!

Almighty God.  You have opened the doors to your household.  Allow us to feel the love and amazing grace that is given to us, so that we might also welcome others into this divine blessing.  Amen.