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Juneteenth is a celebration of liberation and freedom for all. Everyone comes together to stand hand in hand with one another and celebrate the abolishment of slavery.
As you look at the stained-glass windows of your church Sunday morning, be reminded that it reflects your neighbor. A neighbor that doesn’t look like you, act like you, vote like you, think like you, talk like you, or subscribe to the same God as you. Love, your neighbor, with no exceptions. Just as Jesus tells us repeatedly that we need to love one another as he does. Do not forget he intentionally sat on the margins to embrace the ones who were ostracized and felt unloved.
If we are called to pick up where Jesus left off and walk in his footsteps, how can we not celebrate the kaleidoscopes of colors within one another? I don’t think it is a mistake that love is mentioned 714 times in the Bible because it is love that prevails and overcomes any hurdle or obstacle thrown our way.
Juneteenth is an opportunity to celebrate and continue to stand with one another and speak out for justice and equality.
This message is excerpted from “Litany of Freedom: Juneteenth Colorful Family” by Ralen M. Robinson in the June 2023 Café online magazine. Today is Juneteenth.