Daily Devotion

Introduction for this week's Devotions

I’m sure you’ve seen footage of or stories about this summer’s protests in the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. These are only the most recent in a long history of Black and White people protesting violence by people in power in our country. Truly, they are a part of a long history of people around the world protesting violence by people in power. And they are part of a long history of people of faith protesting violence of all kinds—I just finished writing a chapter for my next book about the Syro-Phonecian woman (that is, non-Jewish) who asks Jesus to help her daughter and Jesus’ response is to say he’s not here to feed the dogs but the children. Can you imagine? And she pushes back saying, “Even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs the children drop.” She stands up for herself, her children, her people, and Jesus reckons it to her as righteousness!

Protestantism takes its very name from this practice of protest. And that’s precisely what it is, a spiritual practice. You’ll notice, it’s not the only spiritual practice by a long shot! Prayer, fasting, giving alms, working the soil, music and so many more things are practices—that is, intentional actions done over and over—that can bring us into deeper communion with God and each other. Protest can be a spiritual practice. One of the most moving aspects of protest for me is the music. The songs folks sing as they sit or march or work are rooted deeply in the Christian and Jewish traditions and speak to the pain and struggles and hope that we experience in all aspects of our lives. This week, I am bringing y’all a handful of songs I’ve learned recently and some questions you might ask yourself as you listen to them, learn them, and find yourself singing them at odd hours of the day.