On Wednesday April 16th, we gathered in response to the removal of the women and children from polygamist ranch in Texas. We gathered together to pray and lit 555 luminaries on the front lawn of Calvary UMC. There was one luminary for each of the 416 children removed from the ranch and one luminary for each of the 139 women who voluntarily left the ranch.
Authorities removed the 416 children from the ranch after receiving a phone call from a person claiming to be a 16 year old girl who said she was repeatedly beaten and raped by her 50 year old husband. 139 additional women left the ranch voluntarily. There have been reports of young girls, barely teenagers, being married to men old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers. Authorities are now unsure that the girl who called to complain actually exists.
On Thursday April 17th, the courts began the process of trying to decide whether to keep the children out of the ranch or if the children should be returned to the custody of their parents at the ranch. We gathered Wednesday April 16th, to pray for those associated with the ranch, and for the authorities who must decide what is in the best interest of the children. We ask that everyone continue to keep this situation in your prayers.
When we hear reports of abuse, whether as isolated events or as part of systematic oppression, we often wonder where God is in the midst of so much pain. I can only imagine that acts of abuse and oppression leave the victims feeling as if they are in exile, as if they have been removed from their homes, from the safety and security of what they have known, and even as if they have been removed from God. It is my guess that the children who have been removed from their home on this ranch in Texas, must feel like they are in exile. How scared they must be as they have been removed from their sheltered environment, and separated from their parents. In the midst of such fear and anxiety, God speaks a word of hope.
In Jeremiah 29:11-13, we hear God’s words to the Israelites in exile.
“'For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’”
This passage reminds us that God is present even in the midst of pain and suffering. God does not intend to harm these children but to bring them a hope and a future. But God also does not intend for us to hurt one another. We were created to live in loving and mutual relationships with one another. Acts of abuse and oppression go against what God has intended for us.
Yet even when we cannot see it, even when situations seem desperate and hopeless, God’s love and grace is actively at work to bring healing. I believe it is God’s grace that gave strength and courage to the young 16 year old girl that enabled her to call for help. I believe it is God’s grace and love that lead the authorities to remove all the children from the ranch. And I believe is it God’s grace at work in our community, that led each one of us here tonight to pray for those affected.
God’s grace is at work long before we realize it. God’s grace is continually at work in each one of us to make us more fully into the image of God, to make us more fully the people God intends us to be. As we grow more fully into the people God intends each one of us to be, God’s grace calls us to speak out on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. God calls us to embody the loving mutual relationships God intends for all of humanity. It is God’s grace, active in concrete ways through ordinary imperfect believers like us, that is able to bring hope and healing to a broken world.
Please join us in continuing to praying for this situation and everyone involved.
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