Lent 2025 Day 33

Bayard Rustin, Pacifist and Civil Rights Leader
John 13:1-17 | Psalm 126
 
Bayard Rustin (1912–1987) was a Black, gay Quaker, pacifist, and one of the most brilliant strategic minds behind the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Best known as the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, Rustin shaped the nonviolent philosophy and political tactics that defined the movement, mentoring leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and embedding Gandhian principles of active resistance into the spiritual heart of social transformation. And yet, because of his sexual orientation, he was often pushed into the shadows—his brilliance embraced, his full identity suppressed.
 
Rustin lived at the intersection of multiple marginalizations. As a Black man, a gay man, and a pacifist in a time of deep Cold War nationalism, he was constantly scrutinized, excluded, and dismissed—often even by allies. Yet he remained faithful. Rather than retreating from public life, he committed himself more deeply to service. He was not always at the microphone, but he was always working—organizing, teaching, loving, resisting. His life embodies the quiet, radical servanthood Jesus models in John 13. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus kneels to wash his disciples’ feet—not as a ruler asserting power, but as a servant offering care. Rustin understood that true leadership is rooted in humility, in dignity, in offering yourself for the good of others.

His Quaker upbringing taught him that “there is that of God in everyone,” a radical belief in the sacred worth of all people. This spiritual foundation made Rustin particularly sensitive to injustice, and unwavering in his belief that nonviolence was not only a tactic, but a way of life. He famously said, “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.” This was no mere idealism. Rustin was arrested, beaten, jailed, and blacklisted. Still, he kept organizing.

Psalm 126 reminds us that the people of God are often sowing in tears. Rustin sowed his life in difficult soil—navigating racism, homophobia, political rejection, and spiritual exclusion. But the seeds he planted have borne tremendous fruit. The dream of the Civil Rights Movement, though still unfolding, is inseparable from his vision. His life testifies that joy comes—not always quickly, not without cost—but it comes. God brings forth life where there was despair, harvest where there were ashes.

Rustin’s life also forces the Church to confront its own complicity in marginalization. He was faithful to Christ, committed to justice, and a man of deep prayer, and yet many churches excluded him for being openly gay. Lent is a season that demands truth-telling. It is a time to name where we have built walls instead of basins for footwashing. It is a time to remember that the God who knelt with a towel around his waist also stands with the oppressed and honors the quiet, unsung labor of people like Rustin.

He modeled discipleship that is not performative but practical—planning bus routes, writing speeches, organizing people, and keeping peace when others demanded vengeance. Rustin’s daily acts of service reflect the kind of world Jesus came to build: not one of domination or spectacle, but one of community, care, and courageous love.

Reflection:

• What does it mean to practice footwashing in today’s world—in your home, your church, your workplace? 
• Where are you being called to serve from the margins instead of seeking the center? 
• How does Bayard Rustin’s story invite you to be an “angelic troublemaker” in your own community? 

Breath Prayer: Inhale: Sow in tears… Exhale: Reap in joy.

May this Lenten season invite us to serve boldly, love humbly, and follow Christ in the footsteps of those who wash feet, challenge injustice, and change the world—not for credit, but for the sake of love.

Amen.