November 1

November 1 is All Saints Day, when the church remembers that those who have died are still united with us in the Church Universal. November 1 and 2 is also the celebration of Dia de los Muertos, the indigenous Mexican celebration of ancestors and family members who may be dead, but who are still very much with the living family. 

Today marks the death, in 1976, of Grace Nail Johnson, civil rights activist and prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She was also married to James Weldon Johnson, who we remembered on June 17. 

Today also marks the martyrdom by firing squad, in 1937, of Pastor Paul Hamberg, leader of the Lutheran church in Baku, Azerbaijan. Seven other church leaders died with him in a Stalinist purge of churches. 

Today is the Feast Day of Deborah the Prophetess, one of the pre-monarchial leaders of Israel in Judges 4-5. This story from pre-monarchial Israel is notable in that most of the decisive human action happens through strong women leaders.

Reflection: 

The climax of the story in Judges 4-5 happens after the defeat of the enemy army. As the enemy general, Sisera, looks for a place to hide, he is welcomed by Jael, a woman of a supposedly neutral camp. 

One of the features of the White Christian Nationalism, the religion of this fascist regime of the United States, is that it promotes a gender-stratified hierarchy in which God is at the top, white men are subordinate to God, and white women are subordinate to men, and people of other races are subordinate to white people. While most of the Bible’s authors and editors were also part of a patriarchal culture, there is a consistent thread throughout that undermines patriarchy and tribalism. Violent and blood-soaked as this story is, it is a reminder that liberation happens from the bottom-up, and not the top-down. An outsider woman is the hero of the story. God moves outside of human systems of political, ethnic, and gender power. 

Since it is All Saints Day, I also want to remind readers of the point of this devotional: to lift up people through thousands of years who inspire us with their courage, faith, and vision. I borrow from Wiliiam James’ understanding of “saint” - exemplars who provide the template for our own lives, who help us stand up to tyranny and seek the kin-dom of God. 

Prayer: God who is in no way limited by our notions of power, give us the real power of love, a power that is stronger than death. Amen.