Virtue: Love
Resolution: I choose to love God with my whole being and my neighbor as myself, especially my enemy.

Human Story: Xernona Clayton (1930 - )

If you have ever studied the Civil Rights movement in depth you may have heard of Xernona Clayton, even though she was never a very public figure. She was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest confidants and was the one who drove Dr. King to the airport the fateful day he flew to Memphis, a trip from which he would never return.

After leading the movement to integrate Atlanta’s hospitals, she was appointed in 1967 to be one of five people to head the Atlanta Model Cities, an initiative to improve the interracial neighborhoods of Atlanta. However, upon the appointment one of her colleagues gave her a warning: “Be aware, Xernona, one of the men serving alongside you is a Klan member.”

Xernona said that she knew exactly who it was the first day of their meeting. Out of the four other men who helped lead the initiative, three gave her a firm handshake, while one, Mr. Calvin Craig, seemed to cringe when he touched her hand. Xernona began to get to know Mr. Craig. She found out that he attended church twice a week and also faithfully led his Klan meetings. She would question him on how he could align his Biblical beliefs with the hatred of the KKK. They began to have robust conversations. Xernona’s patient, yet persistent presence in his life caused him to begin to soften toward her and to others in the black community. After a long working relationship, Mr. Craig informed Xernona on a Friday afternoon that he was going to surprise her over the weekend. To her shock and surprise, she learned he had called a news conference at his residence, at which he publicly resigned his position as the grand dragon and left the KKK.

In 2010, years after Mr. Craig passed away, his daughter, Gail Mayes, reached out to Xernona. She was surprised to hear that Mrs. Mayes wanted to meet with her. The following excerpt is from an article about Xernona in the Atlanta magazine:

I asked Gail, “What was the compelling reason that you had to meet me?” She said, “I came here especially to thank you, because you healed my father and cleansed our family.” Well, I nearly collapsed, I was so overtaken by those words. And then my mind went back to the years when she was little. I used to say to her father, “I’m concerned about these children, and especially this little girl. You’re transmitting this bigotry and hatred. I just hope she’ll grow up to be healthy, happy, sound, and grounded.”

This story demonstrates how loving our enemy can be the most powerful, transformative force in the world. Through her relationship with Calvin Craig, Xernona’s powerful witness of love caused not only a change for Craig, but for the future of his family.

Reference: http://www.atlantamagazine.com/civilrights/xernona-clayton- kkk-grand-dragon-calvin-craig/

Lesson: Romans 12:14-17a (NIV)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Paul begins Romans 12 with the intention of describing what it means to be a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (12:1), and we find that the requirements are simply to serve God as one can and to love sincerely. While it can be simply said, it would be arrogant to say that such a task is easy, particularly when it comes to blessing one’s persecutors rather than seeking their destruction. Here it is important to recognize that Paul is not calling Christian men and women to become passive in and toward abusive situations, but rather to live with sincere love, which is to resist evil by not becoming evil itself. Of course, there are various degrees of persecution and evil that may require different kinds of responses, but Paul’s point throughout the chapter is that we seek harmony and goodness rather than create more hate in an already wounded world. Xerona Clayton exemplifies this beautifully in that she did not avoid a potentially dangerous situation, but through proximity and persistence, her relationship with Calvin Craig changed a man whose life was dictated by hatred of an entire race. Sincere love, however, is not limited to blessing one’s enemies, but also learning how to rejoice and mourn with those around us and to value each person regardless of situation or demographic. In other words, a living sacrifice and a sincere love is to demonstrate an attentiveness to the wellbeing of those around us by replacing evil with good blessings, joy, and compassion.

Remembrance

Don’t Shoot the Wounded by Chuck Girard (Chorus, Verse 1, Chorus)

Don't shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever
They need our love no matter what it is they've done
Sometimes we just condemn them,
And don't take time to hear their story

Don't shoot the wounded, someday you might be one
It's easy to love the people who are standing hard and fast
Pressing on to meet that higher calling
But the ones who might be struggling, we tend to judge too harshly
And refuse to try and catch them when they're falling

We put people into boxes and we draw our hard conclusions
And when they do the things we know they should not do
We sometimes write them off as hopeless
And we throw them to the dogs

Our compassion and forgiveness sometimes seem in short supply, so I say...
Don't shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever
They need our love no matter what it is they've done
Sometimes we just condemn them,
And don't take time to hear their story
Don't shoot the wounded, someday you might be one

Challenge

Jesus commanded us to love our "neighbor" as ourselves, which has led many to ask, "who is my neighbor?" Instead of being all philosophical about it, like the lawyer in Luke 10, get practical, and choose a tangible act of kindness to do for a neighbor, a stranger, or someone you might think of as an “enemy.”

Reflection

What does "don't shoot the wounded" mean to you? Have you ever been “the wounded”? Can you identify any wounded people in your life?

Further Growth

2023: Fifth Sunday in Epiphany

Old Testament: 2 Kings 22:8-20
Psalm: Psalm 27
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20

2022: Fifth Sunday In EpiPhany

Old Testament: Judges 6:11-24
Psalm: Psalm 85
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

2021: Fifth Sunday in Epiphany

Old Testament: 2 Kings 4:8-37
Psalm: Psalm 142
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

2020

Old Testament: 2 Kings 22:8-20
Psalm: Psalm 27
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20