In the past few weeks, the Black Lives Matters movement has been on my heart in many ways. I have found myself wanting to find new ways to be a good ally to the black community, to help unravel the systemic inequities in our culture and to educate myself better on these issues. I have found amazing voices willing to shed new light on a far too-old topic.

            At the same time I have found myself contemplating what it is to be a police officer in this moment, especially the kind of good officer who really gets “public service,” but who, for now, is caught up in the behavior of fellow-officers who have engaged in the worst type of behavior. I have thought about those who feel guilty because they are part of an institution that has made room for protecting those who abuse their power, just to bolster the notion of power itself. I’m mindful of those who feel that their own calling is now called into question by so many.

            It is so familiar and so close to home. It is what we, as clergy, have gone through and continue to go through. I am hopeful that as a voice, not of a blanket condemnation, but of “having been there”, I might offer both hope and a reason to “lean into the discomfort.” I have seen that some change is healthy, long-overdue and yet life giving if we let it happen. For those who have known that change in their own institution is needed, but who have never found the traction or voice, this can be a turning point. I’ve learned to shoulder the humbling experience of being suspect through association for the sake of cleaning up the association to which I belong.

            So this has become my reflection today. There is no reading. This not a homily on the day’s readings. It is, instead, my homily on the day itself. The musical piece I have included is entitled “Anthem For Allies” and is a call for all of us who wish to support those whose well-being sits at the center of our culture’s unjust past, inequitable present and fragile future. I’ve included the lyrics, and hope that at least the chorus will be something that you can plant in your mind as we all look to taking care of one another, not just in the days ahead but in the years that still lie before us.

Fr. Pat

     

Words and Music by Fr. Patrick Dolan

Chorus

1. Open my eyes to the world all around me and give me the gift of your sight.

Help me reveal every sin against justice:

the shadows of history bring out into light.

2. Create in me a new heart that is open.

Recast this world from above.

Call us to fight for the goal of your kingdom:

the dignity due every child of your love.

3. Let this be my song, be my prayer, be my anthem.

Lord, write this word on my heart:

The one way we love you is love one another.

For all to be free we must each do our part;

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