Expectations of Good

               Good news stories—can we ever hear enough of these or fail to be encouraged by the good that each story presents?  Annapolis High School in Annapolis, Maryland—never heard of it until a “good news” story on the Nightly News shared its secrets of success:  raise achievements by changing expectations.   In Annapolis before 1960, there were two schools, one for white students and one for minority students.  The difference in student achievement between the two schools was significant.

               In the 1960s, the two schools were merged but they continued to operate almost like two separate schools with minority achievement remaining low.  Things began to change about 10 years ago with a new principal, new teachers and a new expectation, that all children can be successful.  The school began operating year round and brought community leaders on board to mentor students, meeting with them weekly.  Students began to feel like people cared about them.  “Changing the perceptions of what’s possible” was part of what turned this school around, helping minority students to be much more successful in their school performance.  Everything worked together to change the “culture of what the community expects” of its young people.

               Expectation can be a powerful thing, especially when that expectation is grounded in a hope and faith that come from God.  In Psalm 62, David wrote about his expectation in God:  “My soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.  He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved” (62:5,6 NKJV).  David knew firsthand about the saving power of God beginning in his young days up against bears and lions and a giant named Goliath. 

               Many years ago a scripture in Ephesians became very real to me.  In Paul’s letter, he makes a great claim about what we should expect from God when we pray.  He describes God as the one “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20 NKJV).  At the time, I needed a hope and confidence far beyond what I could conjure up on my own, and God was faithful, indeed.  After a season of seeking and prayer, God gave me that “expectation of good” in another pregnancy after some hard months following the premature birth and short life of our second child.

               Yes, expectation can be a powerful thing.  Every March 16^th, I celebrate the birthday of David, now 33, and I remember the expectation of good that God gave me so many years ago as I trusted Him to be the God who brings “good news” as we seek Him. 

Remembering a peacemaker

            I often begin the day with a news show on television as I start the coffee brewing and pour a bowl of cereal.   As The Early Show (CBS) covered this morning’s news, one story looked back at Robert Kennedy’s death 45 years ago today.  In 1968, news “as it happens” cable coverage did not exist as it does now, but the night Kennedy won the California primary and the events that followed were broadcast live—and I was watching.

            Two high school friends were very enthusiastic Kennedy supporters, so we planned an overnight stay at one friend’s house to watch the California primary results that June night.    It was well after midnight when we saw Kennedy make his victory speech.  We celebrated in the early morning quiet-- until so quickly, so unexpectedly, his good fortune came to a sudden halt as bullets were fired, hitting Kennedy and others as they passed through the hotel kitchen.

            I don’t remember how long we watched this unfolding horror on the television screen,  but it was well into the night.  There was no thought of going to bed, and it soon became clear that Kennedy’s head wound was very serious.  He was not expected to survive.

            As the sun brought the beginning of light that morning, I knew most of the country would be waking up to this terrible news of another leader falling victim to a shooter’s malicious intent.  Martin Luther King, Jr., had been killed not even two months before as he stood among friends on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.  I felt a strong desire to spare so many others the pain and sadness we already felt and they would wake up to, but I knew I could not.

            A few years ago, I read a book called The Last Campaign by Thurston Clarke.  It was difficult to read knowing only too well how this story about Robert Kennedy would end.  However, it was compelling to follow Kennedy as he worked through his grief after his brother’s assassination and finally came to believe he should run for the presidency himself.

            A memorable revelation of Kennedy’s character in the book is his response to the news of King’s death.  Kennedy had already scheduled a rally in a poor area of Indianapolis, Indiana, on the very next night.  As people began to come to it, some were already angry and ready to be violent, bringing guns, knives, clanging chains, and bottles and cans of gasoline. 

            Kennedy had been advised to just quickly announce King’s death and leave, but he chose to come to the people as a peacemaker, a man who understood their pain and anger because of his own devastating, personal loss.  He gave a seven minute speech which put before them the essential choices:  “You can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred and a desire for revenge . . . Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence . . . (with) compassion and love.” 

According to Clarke, right after King’s death, riots broke out in 119 American cities.  Widespread destruction left 46 people dead and 2500 injured.  But in Indianapolis, “where race relations were notoriously tense, no guns were fired or Molotov cocktails were thrown,” making this city the only major one in America to escape the violence.

This morning’s news story connected to Kennedy’s death definitely brought back memories of a night with friends that turned surprisingly and terribly tragic.  However, it also reminded me of our continued calling as followers of Christ to be peacemakers as Robert Kennedy tried to be that night in Indianapolis so many years ago.