By: Maggie Leonard
Reflection—v. 14, Wake up, sleeper!
The writer of this passage is quoting Isaiah, pleading with God’s people to see the injustice around us, to see where people are being oppressed, and to act mercifully toward the vulnerable. It is a call to see what is going on, to bring one’s attention to it, and to act in love accordingly. To be awakened, someone or something brings about the change in mental state from asleep to aware. To wake, one changes their own mental state. To be woke, the person is past the process of waking—they are finished with it. Today, being woke means to become informed and to stay alert of the implications. There’s a chance you’ve seen it, #woke or #staywoke. It’s a term that originated in the African-American community as early as 2008, but gained popularity in 2012 after the shooting of Trayvon Martin and has continued to gain traction. It has its roots in the Black Lives Matter Movement. To some, it might seem an interesting choice in grammar. I really appreciate the nuance. To be woke requires attention, awareness—one cannot be passive as if asleep. To be woke requires intentionality, nobody can make you woke. You have to be willing to see. I have to be willing to see. It means that learning cannot be undone and that a blind eye will not be turned.
Prayer God of Love, give me the courage and boldness to see what is going on around me, and the compassion to offer mercy and love.