The Arts, The Locked Doors, and the Road to Calvary
2 Kings 5 v1–15b

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s a liturgical painter, I am often called in my studio practice to take what is particularly meaningful to me and shape it as a praise contained within thick applications of pigment, compelling harmonies, and vibrant brush strokes.

I am currently mining the writings (1957-1959) of my great aunt Julia Jasper Hudson, a member of the First Baptist Church Women’s Missionary Society in Farmville Virginia, who records through her personal writings, the deliberations of her missionary group regarding their collective rising up to the challenge of responding to the doors that had been chained and locked by the Prince Edward County Virginia school board as part of a massive resistance by white supremacists to the Supreme Court’s desegregation ruling for schools in Prince Edward County Virginia.

Like Naaman in Kings 5, the search for a God centered approach to the release of an imposed subjugation, a leprosy of the spirit, impacting the thousands of school age children was a remedy sought without resolution for the last several years. Oh how they must have cried and prayed. Aunt Julia lists opening hymns and scripture for each meeting.

Prophetically, they devise a way to work through the community based Freedom Summer Schools organized in a moment providing clarity regarding the “immersive location, the healing stream” location of where they would find the divine healing needed to address the unjust circumstance for those who could not attend school. Stevie Wonder, in his performance of “Heaven is Ten Zillion Light Years Away” crystalizes for me how it might have been like seventy years ago at that missionary meeting table. I allow this performance in this Lenten season to be my immersion into that sacred healing water and I celebrate these women and the road to Calvary. I invite you to take this step with me on the road to Calvary and listen to this recording I often play in my studio while exploring my painting “Adams Morgan Smiles” – art in yesterday’s devotion.

Reflection: Heaven is Ten Zillion Light Years AwayCan't say that heaven is ten zillion light years away
But if so let all be pure at heart
Just to walk her righteous streets I pray
Let God's love shine within to save our evil souls
For those who don't believe will never see the light
"Where is my God?"
He lives inside of me
And I say it's taken Him so long
'Cause we've got so far to come
People, "Where is your God?"
Inside, please let Him be
And I say it's taken Him so long
'Cause we've got so far to come