The Whole Truth: Isaiah 43:1-10

LaTrelle Miller Easterling

A Sermon Given in Honor of Anna Howard Shaw

I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Perhaps you have uttered these words prior to offering testimony or giving a sworn statement – or at least you have seen it on Law & Order. The witness: one having knowledge, the holder of facts, one viewing events and offering a recitation of the facts before the court. The best witness, or so it was once believed, is an eye witness, one with first-hand experience of the facts in question able to offer a vivid account of what has taken place.

Israel, created by the sovereign hand of God, and Jacob, formed by the saving grace of God, is called into the assembly to testify about God’s proper place among the gods and idols of the other nations. Bear witness to my nature and character – tell of the hand that loosed you from the bonds of captivity and lead you through the waters of your birth; guided you through the pangs of the exodus and set your feet upon dry ground. Recount before the assembly the ransom paid for your liberation, the offerings poured out for your deliverance. Give an accounting of the ashes scattered around your feet, the ashes of judgment – through the fire but not consumed – kissed by the flames but not burned. Testify to your election and covenantal relationship. Tell the story of being in exile, but not extinguished, of being disciplined, but not destroyed. But, above all else, state clearly that your God loves you with an indescribable love and has redeemed you forever. Israel is an eyewitness to the omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience of God, and testifies concerning its creation and exalts the name of her Creator.

The creation story is not an event, but in the words of the scholars, is a continuous activity that evidences from generation to generation that everyone who is called by name, whom God formed for God’s glory, everyone is precious and honored in God’s sight and loved beyond all comprehension. The election was made abundant and manifest through the Son who does a new thing and brings a new, comprehensive covenant into being. But, who is bearing faithful witness to this salvific act? Who is proclaiming the whole truth?

Throughout the years the elect of God, those who have experienced God’s love and studied God’s law and told of God’s ways, those who have benefited from God’s grace and been witnesses to God’s righteousness have often failed to live lives that offer a full testimony to God’s true nature. They had ears but could not hear, and eyes but could not see. These curious clerics have been ordained, but refused to ordain; included but refused to include; anointed but failed to acknowledge the aroma of God’s anointing oil on others. They traveled across the pond to forge a brave new world, but regressed to old ways. They landed on the shores of promise but offered little to others.

The story of Anna Howard Shaw is an example of such tainted testimony and warped witness. Anna, acquainted with grief and familiar with the wilderness, learned to triumph over adversity and persevere in the face of hardship. Anna experienced the call of God, the call heard through the ages of a still, small voice calling, inviting one into sacrificial service. Anna, our sister who climbed the rough side of the mountain recognized God’s voice, while others tried to drown it out. Family, friend and foe alike dissuaded, threatened and ridiculed, but she persevered. In the halls of this hallowed institution, Anna learned that “women theologians paid heavily for the privilege of being women.” Rejected, ostracized, marginalized and sometimes penalized she pressed forward.

Anna, the minister, doctor, suffragist, brilliant orator, debater, lecturer, distinguished medal recipient, trailblazer and forerunner, was a woman of many firsts: she became one of the first women licensed by the Methodist Church. She was one of the first women to graduate from this School of Theology; she was the first woman to be ordained in any branch of Methodism by the New York Conference. Her gifts made room for her and she was asked to preach throughout the area to good effect, but her destiny was deferred at the hands of illegitimate authority. In the words of Leontyne Kelley, the first African-American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, “ No institution has the biblical right to determine who will witness for God.” Anna became a proclaimer par excellence, commanding a national stage for issues of justice and equality, and lending her voice to many causes, including woman’s suffrage.

Yet, even Anna’s witness waned as she fell prey to rampant racism and political persuasion. Anna parted company with her sisters of color in order to secure the vote for white women. She called it a humiliation that former slaves gained the power of the poll before their slave owners’ mistresses. Sometimes even as eyewitnesses to God’s goodness, our testimony is incomplete and less than the whole truth. However, let us not linger on Anna’s words too long without asking ourselves – Where have we failed? Where are we failing? Who is suffering today because we are failing to tell the whole truth? Yet, Anna’s legacy transcends that fateful day and has opened doors for countless scores of women throughout the years. I count it no coincidence that the current Shaw Scholar, and the woman asked to deliver the sermon to commemorate Anna’s birthday are both women of color. Her courage has served as a catalyst for many who answer their calls amid ridicule and abuse. We stand on Anna’s shoulders today.

We, too, are witnesses to the creation; witnesses to God’s providential proclivities; witnesses to God’s sacred salvific acts – we have the evidence all around us – We should be, we must be, the evidence compels us to be witnesses to the truth that God liberates. God liberates through God’s Word, God liberates through God’s Son and God liberates through us. Movements, misguided minds and murderers have tried to suppress the truth of God, but God’s truth will not be silenced. Joel’s prophecy is still prolific, and in these latter days God has and God continues to pour out God’s spirit on all flesh. God poured it on Anna and Jarena, and God is pouring it on us today. Creation witnesses to God’s goodness, mercy and grace even when human voices fall silent. God’s truth whispers, echoes, sings, shouts, cries out – God’s truth marches on. They try to extinguish it, but God’s truth marches on

Female genital mutilation – but God’s truth marches on

Honor killings – but God’s truth marches on

Rape as a weapon of war – but God’s truth marches on

Bride burnings and acid attacks – but God’s truth marches on

Forced to be comfort women – but God’s truth marches on

Hate crimes against lesbians – but God’s truth marches on

Bodies infected with HIV/AIDS by those looking for a cure – but God’s truth marches on

Unequal pay for equal work – but God’s truth marches on

Denominations still holding women back – but God’s truth marches on

Anna’s spirit holds, I hold, we hold, God holds these truths to be divinely evident – that we are all created in God’s image, precious and honored in God’s sight and we are loved! As one who has been through the denominational fire, I know that of which I speak, but my testimony is clear. In the words of Julia Ward Howe:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored, he has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword, God’s truth is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me; as he died to make all holy let us strive to make all free – while God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! God’s truth is marching on.

My sisters we have been called, anointed, licensed, ordained, appointed, consecrated, tenured, hired for such a time as this. The assembly is listening and we must stand up and witness, we must gather all our sisters from the east and from the west, from the north and the south, we must shout it from the rooftops that God is liberation – This is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – so help us God!