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February 16
David Barnhart
February 16, 2025
“Hand of God,” Auguste Rodin, 1903. National Gallery of Art. Own photo, 2019.
Today, Alaska celebrates Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, because it was her leadership that led to the February 16, 1945 passage of the first anti-discrimination law in the United States. She and her husband Roy, both of the Tlingit Nation, faced housing discrimination and organized with others to get the legislation passed.
This is also the Feast Day of Onesimus, the formerly enslaved Christian mentioned in Paul’s letter to Philemon. Onesimus ran away with Paul, but Paul’s letter asks Philemon to receive him back “as a brother” instead of a slave. Though we don’t know much else about Onesimus, tradition has it that he became a bishop in Ephesus.
Today also marks the death, in 1977, of Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and critic of the dictator Idi Amin. He was arrested and martyred by the Amin regime. Uganda marks this day with a public holiday.
Today also marks the birth of Nichiren, in 1222, a Japanese Buddhist teacher whose teachings became Nichiren Buddhism. He emphasized the Lotus Sutra, a text that describes how all creatures share in Buddha nature and can achieve enlightenment. He was, however, very intolerant of other forms of Buddhism. He was exiled and threatened with execution for his teachings.
Today also marks the birth of Philip Melanchton, in 1497, major theologian of the Protestant Reformation. He was largely responsible for the Augsburg Confession.
The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change went into effect on this day in 2005. Though the United States signed in in 1998, it has still not been ratified by congress. Many other countries in the world, though, continue to follow it.
Reflection:
But faith is not belief in the history of Christ, as the godless think, but belief in the purpose of Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.
The ability to understand without condemnation, accept our friends and enemies in the light of their weaknesses, is something we must acquire early in life in order to find happiness in this world.
Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, but winter always turns to spring. Never, from ancient times on, has anyone seen or heard of winter turning back to autumn. Nor have we ever heard of a believer in the Lotus Sutra who turned into an ordinary person.
Prayer: Creator of the seasons, in this difficult season, we know we should “trust the process;” but the process is slow and we do not always see the results. It is far easier to pin our faith to black and white doctrines or judgments about who is in or out. Thank you for every sign of the seasons’ changing.