Sick and tired

In 1964, Civil Rights Leader Fannie Lou Hamer said, “All my life I’ve been sick and tired. Now, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Today, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am sick and tired of watching Black women and men die because of their Black skin. I am sick and tired of people rediscovering racism every time a hashtag or murderous video gets enough social media attention.

It’s been almost 56 years since Fannie Lou Hamer declared she was sick and tired of being sick and tired. And we are still sick and tired of being sick and tired today.

What would happen if we started really hearing and understanding the language spoken by our neighbor–the language of our lived experiences? The Holy Spirit is blowing among us, sparking a fire within us, sending us out, opening our ears to hear the voices that go unheard among us, inviting us to move beyond hearing and understanding to action. The Holy Spirit is asking us to be the hands and voice and feet of God in the community; to share the story of Jesus.

This message is an excerpt from a Women of the ELCA blog by Tiffany Chaney. Today we remember Peter Claver, priest, missionary to Colombia, who died in 1654.

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