The problem with the three day weekends that were created by Act of Congress is that we forget the real dates of important people. Presidents’ Day which will occur on the 21st of this month combines the old celebrations that we used to have separately for Washington and Lincoln. On February 12th, back in 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born.
Spielberg’s film Lincoln catches the essence of his painful sorrow for he wanted to be a man of peace, and he is portrayed as a man of war. Henry Fonda’s performance of Lincoln is a different image of the man, a young lawyer who believes in the cause he argues, a man wrongfully accused of murder.
A man who transcended his time regarding the beliefs about Black Americans, Lincoln moved from being antislavery to political and social equality. He reflected many of the struggles for change we all undergo. Each of us had had some limitation we needed to transcend. That’s part of human growth and development. It is what makes us human.
Prayer for the Day
Striving to move beyond the boundaries of our minds,
We come to you, O Lord, asking for your liberating Spirit;
Confronted by new realities, we are unsettled
And look to you to open us to new visions of the world;
Save us from the temptation to search for certainty
And restore in us a faith that opens our minds and hearts;
As given us by the One we follow,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
He who would be no slave must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.
I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall be no longer a doubt that all men are created free and equal.
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of ole,
Things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generations
The glorious deeds of the Lord, and of God’s might, and the wonders done.
Psalm 78: 1-4