Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46
In the 1970s, while our country was becoming more dependent on nuclear energy, the public was largely unaware of the health hazards of producing this energy until the case of The Estate of Karen Silkwood vs. Kerr-McGee. Kerr-McGee produced plutonium fuel pins used in the production of nuclear power. Karen Silkwood was a lab analyst for Kerr-McGee who uncovered dangerous safety issues at the plant. Even in small amounts, plutonium is deadly. Karen, herself, was contaminated. For several months, she gathered evidence to show that management understood, but ignored safety issues, and that so many employees at the plant had no idea of the dangerous circumstances under which they were working. On her way to meet with a reporter from The New York Times to share the gathered evidence, Karen Silkwood was killed in a suspicious car accident. When her car was searched the next day, the evidence was gone and never recovered. Silkwood’s father hired an attorney, Gerry Spence. Spence’s closing argument in the case is considered one of the finest in modern law. Spence speaks plainly evoking justice and righteousness.
After reviewing the evidence, and explaining the relevant legal theory, Spence closes with these words: “What is this case about? It is about Karen Silkwood, who was a brave, ordinary woman who did care. And she risked her life, and she lost it. And she had something to tell the world, and she tried to tell the world. What was it that Karen Silkwood had to tell the world? That has been left to us to say now. It is for you, the jury, to say. It is for you, the jury, to say it for her. What was she trying to tell the world? Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I wish Karen Silkwood was standing here by me now and could say what she wanted to say. I think she would say, ‘Brothers and sisters…’ I don’t think she would say ladies and gentlemen. I think she would say, ‘Brothers and sisters, they were just eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds. They didn’t understand. There wasn’t any training. They kept the danger a secret. They covered it with word games and number games.’ And she would say: ‘Friends, it has to stop here today, here in Oklahoma City today.’ Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve still got half an hour, and I’m not going to use it. I’m going to close my case with you right now. I’m going to tell you a story, a simple story, about a wise old man—and a smart-aleck young boy who wanted to show up the wise old man for a fool. The boy’s plan was this: he found a little bird in the forest and captured the little bird. And he had the idea he would go to the wise old man with the bird in his hand and say, ‘Wise old man, what have I got in my hand?’ And the old man would say, ‘Well, you have a bird, my son.’ And he would say, ‘Wise old man, is the bird alive, or is it dead?’ And the old man knew if he said, ‘It is dead’ the little boy would open his hand and the bird would fly away. Or if he said, ‘It is alive,’ then the boy would take the bird in his hand and crunch it and crunch it, and crunch the life out of it, and then open his hand and say, ‘See, it is dead.” And so the boy went up to the wise old man and he said, ‘Wise old man, what do I have in my hand?’ The old man said, ‘Why it is a bird, my son.’ He said, ‘Wise old man, is it alive, or is it dead?’ And the wise old man said, ‘The bird is in your hands, my son’” (Michael S. Lief, H. Mitchell Caldwell, Ben Bycel, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law, New York: Scribner, 1998, pp. 156-157) - a remarkable closing argument.
We have a remarkable closing argument in our Scripture lessons today. We are at the end of our calendar year, the last Sunday in Pentecost. Next Sunday is the beginning of the calendar year, the first Sunday in Advent. And, how do we close out the year? How does Scripture summarize for us, in plain words, evoking justice and righteousness, how does Scripture summarize for us the message that guides our life? God loves us, and we are called to serve one another. In Ezekiel, in language so fitting to an agrarian society, yet beautiful throughout the ages, God rescues his children: “I will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel….I will be the shepherd…I will seek the lost…I will bind up the injured…I will strengthen the weak” (Ezek 34:13-16). God loves us, God lives with us caring for us. And, we are called to care for others. In the Gospel of Matthew today, we are reminded to love one another as God loves us: “‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’… ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’” (Matt 25:34-36, 40) – a beautiful closing argument to our calendar year, plainly spoken, evoking justice and righteousness.
Today is the last Sunday in the church’s calendar year – it is the last Sunday in the Season after Pentecost, a season known as Ordinary Time, a season in which we learn about the saving acts of Jesus Christ. Next Sunday will be the first Sunday in the new church year – the first Sunday in Advent, a season of preparation for the birth of Christ. Advent is followed by the season of Christmas which begins on December 25th and lasts for twelve days. The Christmas season is followed by Epiphany which falls on January 6th. On this day we celebrate the arrival of the Magi affirming the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Our understanding of God living among us is heard in the lessons throughout the season of Epiphany lasting through the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Advent through Epiphany is known as the Christmas cycle.
Ash Wednesday opens the Easter cycle, beginning with the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday introduces forty days of penitence remembering Christ’s forty days in the wilderness and preparing us for Holy Week. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, celebrating Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and lasts through sundown on Holy Saturday. Worship experiences during Holy Week include Maundy Thursday reliving the Last Supper and Good Friday witnessing Christ’s crucifixion. The Easter Vigil service begins after sundown on Holy Saturday, but before sunrise on Easter Sunday. This service draws us out of our mourning into the hope of resurrection. The Easter Season, a time of rejoicing, includes the Ascension of Christ forty days after Easter Day and ends with Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit, on the fiftieth day. We return to the saving acts of Jesus Christ during the Season after Pentecost which ends today, the Sunday before Advent. A new season begins in which we prepare, once again, for Christ’s birth.
Yet, during Advent we prepare for more than Christ’s birth – we prepare also for the second coming of Christ, for Christ coming again. Our church year is not simply a repetition year to year – it is always about new Creation, it is always about new hope in Christ Jesus. The case of The Estate of Karen Silkwood vs. Kerr-McGee did not simply end with a judgment against Kerr-McGee and damages awarded to Silkwood’s estate – the judgment in the case was the beginning of change. The case put pressure on the industry to take responsibility for health and safety issues. Advent is the beginning of a new year. Scripture offers us a closing argument to carry into the new year – God loves us and cares for us and we are called to care for one another. The verdict was in the jury’s hands – the jury was called to speak for Karen Silkwood. We are called to carryout the Good News. The bird is in our hands. Amen.
