Feast of St. David Oakerhater

They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’
Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.’
They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.’ They said to him, ‘We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.’ John 8:33-47

David Pendleton Oakerhater

Dear wondrous Creator of all nations
you called a young Cheyenne warrior
from a prison cell to serving Christ
walking with his people to the end.

You have called strangers and neighbors
people of all tribes and all nations
to walk with their people in service
and you call us today to be ready as well.

Make us your warriors for peace
help us be your hands and heart here
help us to use this time of isolation
to help set love free around us.

May we be models of patience
may we walk with compassion
may we speak with joy and hope
may the world know You through us. Amen

David Pendleton Oakerhater, also known as O-kuh-ha-tuh and Making Medicine, was a Cheyenne Indian warrior and spiritual leader, who became an artist and Episcopal deacon. Imprisoned in 1875 after the Indian Wars at Fort Marion, Florida, Oakerhater became one of the founding figures of modern Native American art. Later he was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and worked as a missionary in Oklahoma. In 1985, Oakerhater was the first Native American Anglican to be included in the book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts of the Episcopal Church.