Just over one hundred years ago on this date the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, erupted into what must be called a race massacre. An accusation of improper conduct between Dick Rowland, a black shoe shiner, and Sarah Page, a white elevator operator led to a lynch mob gathering in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, a black middle-class part of town. Within just two days, it had been burnt to the ground and about 300 persons were murdered by the white supremacist mob.
We use the events of our history to tell us who we are as a people. Remembering our past is sometimes difficult, especially when that past runs counter to our image of who we want to think we are as a Nation. However, it is important to commemorate those kinds of events as well as to celebrate events that represent the best in us as a Nation.
How we tell our story as a people shapes who we become in the future. Recognizing our weaknesses is just as important as recognizing our strengths, difficult to do but necessary.
Prayer for the Day
Caught in the struggle of everyday life, we wonder what to confess,
For we do not see ourselves like others who are evildoers;
Considering our failures as unimportant weaknesses,
We mouth our confessions but do not feel them in our hearts.
Forgive our hubris and prideful ways of thinking and living
And bring us to that place where we live in a spirit of love
In the name of him who forgives, heals, and loves,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
We have a name for people who create universes – they’re called gods. There is no greater hubris than to think we could take the place of godlike implications.
- Gregory Benford, astrophysicist and novelist
Empires always have the hubris to think they are indestructible, when in fact, the are always unsustainable.
- Marianne Williamson, religious writer.
I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I attain knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil