Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be filled.
Marv Davidov was a kind of saint, by which I do not intend the
trivial, goody-two-shoes, popularized meaning, but the real meaning – a person of heroic public virtue:
He was fearless in combating evil – the forces of wickedness that seek to destroy
the creatures of God, such as racial segregation, the Vietnam war – indeed all
war and war profiteers like Honeywell – and the whole, Godless economic structure that
insures increasing misery and inequality.
He cared nothing for money, and he was always poor – at least
in terms of that idolatrous structure.
Marv Davidov was also a patriot – I mean in the real sense of
the word, not in the Orwellian sense of the “Patriot” Act, which makes people like
him into criminals. Marv was a patriot
in that he spent his whole life trying to get America to live up to its own
ideals. The best testament to that is own FBI file, which he read in public at
a fund-raiser!
Marv had a sense of humor, which is also a mark of sanctity.
Humor and joy. I will never forget a long conversation with him, thirty years
ago, about fasting and singing in a Mississippi jail. He actually radiated joy.
By any religious or philosophical standard, Marv Davidov led
a good life – an exemplary life. I have no doubt that, in the language of my
tradition, he has heard the stunning words:
Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment