The theme of our worship yesterday at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas was “Communion of Saints” – the next to last service in a series that started in Lent considering The Apostle’s Creed from the point of view of the modern mind. The series will conclude next Sunday with a focus on “Life Everlasting.”

Yesterday’s post utilized the Centering Time from the service by Ilene Dunn. This post today is borrowed from Jim Rigby’s blog (http://www.jimrigby.org ) – a wonderful blog with frequent postings on a wide variety of subjects), which Jim also utilized in his sermon helping us all understand that the “saints” are not just a group of spiritual all-stars. In reads as follows:

Some time ago, in an attempt to discredit one of the Zapatista leaders in southern Mexico, Sub-comandante Marcos, government officials there tried to put forth the idea that Marcos was gay. In a region where machismo still runs strong, it was hoped this would tarnish the leader’s credibility.

He responded by writing a poem:

“Yes, Marcos is gay. Marcos is gay in San Francisco Black in South Africa an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristobal, a Jew in Germany, a Gypsy in Poland, a Mohawk in Quebec, a pacifist in Bosnia, a single woman on the Metro at 10pm a peasant without land, a gang member in the slums, an unemployed worker, an unhappy student and, of course, a Zapatista in the mountains.

Marcos is all the exploited, marginalised, oppressed minorities resisting and saying ‘Enough’. He is every minority who is now beginning to speak and every majority that must shut up and listen. He is every untolerated group searching for a way to speak. Everything that makes power and the good consciences of those in power uncomfortable — this is Marcos.”

[From Social Justice E-Zine #27.]
Greenleft.org

I conclude today with some of the lyrics from the final stanza of the hymn text that closed our worship:

They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still. The world is filled with living saints who choose to do God’s will. You can meet them in school, on the road, or at sea, in a church, in a train, in a shop, or at tea: for the saints are folk like you and like me . . .

Let us all commit to strive to always do God’s will! Amen and Amen!