Category: Justice

The Cloud of Witnesses

The Cloud of Witnesses

The Creator will take away the cloud of darkness that hangs over people, nations, and all creation.  In mercy, God will bring to an end the humiliation of people and the earth, wiping away anquish and destroying the power of death forever.
From Isaiah 25:7-8 [1]

Allhallowtide spans three significant days: Hallowed Eve (also known as Halloween), followed by All Saints’ Day (Saturday), and then All Souls’ Day on Sunday.   Apart from the festivities of Halloween, All Saints’ Day is an observance that does not deny the pervasive power of darkness.   It acknowledges the aching vulnerability each of us faces, including the inevitability of death that comes to each of us and every living thing on this planet.

Yet All Saints Sunday also resoundingly affirms that a cloud of witnesses surrounds each of us.    Though their earthly lives have come to an end, the presence of this cloud of witnesses remains fueled by grace and the power of love.   Such that they cannot nor will not be silenced.

And this is Good News

Prayer: Holy One, in this time of perilous darkness, as diabolical forces appear to devour whatever is and peacable and good, let us take heart that your cloud of witnesses declares we are not alone.   Though feeling buffeted from all sides, let us hold fast to the scripture that reassures us, saying, “…since a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on our Redeemer, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” [2]

And let all of God’s people say, Amen!

 

[1] From this Sunday’s lectionary, the Book of Isaiah 25:6-9, adapted

[2] From the Letter to the Hebrews, 12:1-2, adapted

 

 

 

 

The Transformative Power of Kindness (whose origin is sorrow)

“He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows,
acquainted with deepest grief…”   Isaiah 53:3 

Earlier this week, the Christian tradition began its forty-day period of repentance and mourning, starting with the imposition of ashes this past Wednesday. This Sunday, March 9th, begins the first of six Sundays, during which both liturgy and sacred text attest to the gravity of the condition confronting humankind and all of creation—one steeped in finitude, vulnerability, and inexplicable loss.

Writes poet Naomi Shibah Nye,
“Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing
…then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore.” [1]

When cruelty appears to have the final word, be it ostracizing transgender people, othering immigrants, cutting off aid to third-world nations, or doubling down on plundering the planet, the transformative power of kindness offers a radically different lens.   A way of being that refuses to remain quiet or on the sidelines, but through speech and action,  “…raises its head from the crowd of the world to say, It is I you have been looking for and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.”[2]

Prayer: Beloved One, did you know how much would be demanded of you when the Spirit drove you into the bleak and barren wilderness?  Yet, having faced the magnitude of want and the depth of sorrow’s bleakness, You became the tenderest of shoots, triumphantly emerging from the hard rock of despair.  So let us not lose heart in sorrow’s wake but bravely practice the transformative power of kindness.  For you are the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, and in You all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.  We offer this prayer in all the holy names of God. Amen. 

[1] Kindness, a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, copyright 1995.

[2] ibid. 

[3] Scriptural references and text in today’s prayer come from the Gospel of Luke 4:1-13 and Colossians 1:15 & 1:19

[4] This reflection is offered in gratitude to Janice Mason Steeves, Mary Ann Holtz and others who take part in the online contemplative prayer community:https://meditationchapel.org/

 

 

 

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Blessed Are You…

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  [1]

This past week, millions in our nation and worldwide witnessed the ceremonies and funeral of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States. After lying in state in the nation’s capital, Carter’s funeral service took place at the Washington National Cathedral, the second-largest church building in the United States. Every pew in that capacious sanctuary, which seats 4,000 people, was filled.

Born and raised in Plains, Georgia, Carter came from unassuming roots, spending his childhood and teen years working on his father’s farm.  Yet he was an archetype of a statesman in countless other ways.  A man of unwavering faith, Carter was a conciliator of peace between Israel and Egypt, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a champion of civil rights and the environment, a humanitarian dedicated to disease eradication and prevention, a promoter of democracy, a fervent supporter and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, and founder of the Carter Center. 

Ironically, Carter weathered intense criticism during his lifetime, if not downright ridicule.     Scoffed at as naive, condemned as a failure as leader and President, and chided for seeking dialogue rather than resorting to war, Carter knew firsthand the scorn of public humiliation and contempt by others, particularly those involved in state affairs.   Brushed off as a mere ‘peanut farmer’ and dubbed a ‘weirdo’ when remaining true to his faith, Carter’s legacy was to continue living into the Gospel even when it was disadvantageous to do so. 

When we hear Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world,” we must remember that these verses were offered in the context of far more difficult ones.   These essential sentences undergird the price of being as salt and light.   ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Prayer: Divine Maker, in this time of gathering darkness, when your creation burns to the ground, and mass deportation looms; in this time of rising anxiety, when a convicted felon will assume the highest in the land, and children are callously sacrificed as the price of war, forgive us, we pray for forfeiting what you alone lovingly created and hence called good.    Kindle within us a renewing of your Spirit so that we may heed Christ’s summons once more.   So even when the good we do is misunderstood or ridiculed, remind us that as bearers of light and the salt of the earth, You have blessed us beyond measure in your realm of peace.  We ask this in all the holy names of God. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Icon of American Defiance

These are dark, if not dangerous, times. Aside from questions concerning our current president’s ability to win this year’s election and yet another disastrous Supreme Court ruling, last Saturday’s violence at a campaign rally compounded the assault on our senses and sensibilities. There is this sense of foreboding and displacement with a mere hundred-plus days remaining before November’s election. What will become of us?

Then, just last evening,  I discovered a historical icon recalling another dark and dangerous time. Situated on the side of a brick building in Cambridge, Maryland, near where she was born, the mural depicts Harriet Tubman reaching out her hand, offering a pathway to freedom despite the treacherous journey ahead.  In contrast to the image of Trump’s bloodied fist raised in defiance following last Saturday’s attack, Tubman’s hand is outstretched in a gesture of solidarity for the road forward.  Writes author and commentator Diana Butler Bass when gazing upon this image:

“This is an icon of American defiance. Harriet’s hand is reaching toward me, breaking through the wall of division and pulling me into freedom — as if offering herself as a guide through the woods and waters of despair: Brutality, enslavement, violence, imprisonment, and death. She defied them all. To lead others — to lead us all — to freedom. This is an invitation: Follow me.

To be honest, hers was a fight, too. And Harriet knew it, ‘I prayed to God to make me strong and able to fight, and that’s what I’ve always prayed for ever since,’ Harriet is to have said.   Yet Follow me is defiant. If you follow the right way, it can lead to conflict. I think Jesus knew that. I’m pretty sure Harriet Tubman knew that Jesus knew that.” [1] & [2]

Prayer:  Divine One and Source of All Compassion, when recoiling from the assault of all that we hold dear, still, You ask us to Follow You, despite our fear and trepidation.   For Your Liberty is NOT grounded in justifying capitalism’s violence over ecological, social, and racial justice.  Nor does Your Expansive Freedom grant license to ignore the cries of the poor, the hungry, and the dispossessed.  So in your mercy, Gracious and Benevolent Maker, instill Your Holy Defiance within us.   So that as Your Followers, we will seek Your Liberty and Wholeness for all of God’s children and this planet we call home. We ask this in all the Holy Names of God. Amen.

[1] Artist, Michael Risoato, Harriet Tubman Mural

[2]  An Icon of Defiance, Diana Butler Bass, from The Cottage, July 14, 2024

 

 

Love Your Neighbor – Vote

“Voting is one of the most powerful tools we have as people of faith.” 

It is no accident that the Gospel’s directive to ‘Love Your Neighbor’ is frequently written off as mixing politics with religion.    But what if the teachings of Jesus, by addressing the necessity of compassion and care for the least of these, are not just political but profoundly so?  Indeed, if the definition of politics (from the Greek word, polis) asks, ‘How do we take care of each other,’ imagine if our sacred text is the most political of documents?

 Yes, we are overwhelmed by the number of consequential, if not existential, issues facing us. Be it climate change, poverty, hunger, healthcare, immigration, housing, or violence waged against the most vulnerable, we are in a state of polycrisis, as when multiple challenges are affecting our world simultaneously.  Yet what if politicians bankrolled by fossil fuel corporations and other big-money interests lost an election?  What if they were voted out of office by the very people adversely affected by their greed and complicity?  

Imagine if, all along, democracy has been the engine that has the means to change the levers of power. What if the unassuming, humble voting booth where ordinary citizens go to cast their vote is the basis for sacred ground? 

Prayer: Holy One, when tempted to relegate politics beyond the scope of what our faith requires of us, teach us to remember that the love of one’s neighbor requires otherwise.   Remind us that our actions, especially towards the least of these, were never intended to be separated from the faith we profess to hold.   In your mercy, restore us to your likeness, we pray.  Pour out your life-giving Spirit upon us so that we, as your people, will do whatever is necessary to protect and preserve your creation and all of humankind.   Let your grace dwell richly within us so that, as citizens and people of faith, our actions will testify to your all-encompassing love.   We ask this in all the holy names of God.  Amen.  

[1]  I am indebted to the Third Act’s panel discussion on the Sacred Right to Vote, held earlier this May.    In particular, those serving on the panel, Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Rev. Carol Devine, Activist Mubarak Elamin, and Rabbi Stephanie Kolin, illuminated this urgent topic through a well-informed discussion on the intersection of voting and faith.   

What You Do Makes a Difference

 

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact 
on the world around you.   What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Lately, I’ve been returning to this quote when feeling powerless, wondering if I or anyone else can make any difference.   Yet then, Goodall’s observation, ‘that none of us can get through a single day without impacting the world around us,’ harkens to her own experience.  Having worked for decades as a primatologist and anthropologist in seeming isolation, she must have lived fully into each day, with one building upon the next.    

Indeed, in the face of palpable suffering and ruthless exploitation on this planet we call home, my hope is that each day allotted will be lived by us entirely.   Not ignoring the world’s cries, but out of love, doing what we can to make a difference:  
Whether it is serving a meal in a homeless shelter,
tending to those ravaged by severe weather,
serving on a phone bank to safeguard democracy,
caring for those devastated by trauma,
supporting those marred by war & bloodshed,
or resisting rather than resorting to violence…
through love, we have the means to make a difference.

Prayer: Holy One, take my hands, my voice, and my body, and through your grace, use these as a conduit for your love.    When I feel there is nothing I or anyone else can do, remind me that you have appointed this day to do what I can to make a difference in the world around me.    I pray this in all the holy names of God.  Amen.

[1] At 89, Jane Goodall, an English primatologist and anthropologist, is the world’s foremost chimpanzee expert.  Yet she has also championed conservation and animal welfare issues,  serving on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project, which strives to change the status of animals from property to that of persons.    She is also an outspoken environmental advocate.   

 

 

An Icon for the Ages

 

“An icon isn’t just a religious work of art…”

If the timelessness of icons is as much about their applicability and relevance, what do these two parallel images have to say to us? While the ancient image on the left portrays the Madonna and Child, this icon also compels us to remember how God chose to enter our world, not as a mighty warrior but as a helpless infant wholly dependent on the protection of others.

What, then, of the image on the right? In a current photograph, here, a Palestinian infant clings to her mother against the backdrop of shelled buildings in Gaza. No, it isn’t Mary, the Mother of God, and the infant Jesus. Yet what if the nature of icons also challenges the limits we impose on God? What if God is all the more present in those we deem insignificant and of no account?

A priest once said, “Do not go out and buy icons. Instead, go to those who are hungry and thirsty, the war-fatigued and grieving, and look for Christ there.” If we are indifferent to the image of God in other people, we will never find God’s image within icons or ourselves, for that matter.

Prayer: Divine Maker, who fashioned all humankind, non-sentient life, and creation, heal us of our blindness, we pray. Teach us that it is not enough to merely hope that the violence and suffering will somehow come to an end on its own. Instead, be in our thoughts, words, and actions so that we may exemplify the radical expansiveness of your love for all of God’s children and creation. We ask this in all the holy names of God. Amen.

[1] Attribute these images to friend and colleague Mary Ann Holtz, who continues to labor for a cease-fire and non-violence in this region and other parts of the world.

What every one of us shares….

“We are separated by continents
but share the same vast, beautiful, and sunlit sky.”

Some years ago, our daughter-in-law’s family shared images of a funeral outside Tehran. Held to commemorate the life of a grandmother on her father’s side, and as customary in the Middle East, the funeral procession took place outdoors. Surrounded by family and friends, several men, including our daughter-in-law’s father, carried the deceased. Wrapped in linen cloth, the body lay on a narrow platform hoisted on the shoulders of men who brought her to her final resting place.  

The palpable grief of those during the procession and subsequent burial all took place against the backdrop of a vast, blue, sunlit sky. As the funeral came to a close, our daughter-in-law’s father took the body of his mother into his arms and gently placed her in a freshly dug grave. 

Death comes to all of us. Yet the images of these past weeks from the land of Israel and Palestine are saturated with atrocity. There is death that comes after a long life, and then there is the kind of death that is senseless, depraved, and malevolent. No matter what side we may find ourselves on, can any of us justify the annihilation of children and youth? Can any one of us excuse unleashing weapons of mass destruction aimed not at military targets but at whole neighborhoods and cities?   

I ponder these questions in the face of the mayhem that continues in what is also known as the Holy Land. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, a land of significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims for decades, it is also a land saturated by war and grief. But lest we forget, every single one of us shares the same vast, beautiful, and sunlit sky.  

Prayer: Divine Maker, when we find ourselves consumed with anger and grief but at a loss for words, compel us to lift our eyes to the hills from whence your help comes. [2] Through your grace, may we have the courage to refrain from violence, instead asking the difficult questions that persist. For just as grief comes to every single one of us, You hold us in the embrace of the same vast, beautiful, and sunlit sky. Amen

[1]  Sunset off the coast of Rhode Island, January 2021

[2] Psalm 121

Turning the Tables on Big Oil

Who would have thought that a handful of Montana youth could successfully win their day in court and against Big Oil at that? But then, every once in a while, the young Davids of this world triumph over behemoths like Goliath. Now, other states are looking to these youth and their strategy as a blueprint.  

Does this mean fossil fuel is on its way out? Hardly. The clash between conservative ideologues seeking to shield fossil fuel industries from climate action and those advocating for renewable energy to limit the amount of carbon pumped into the atmosphere continues unabated. As with Texas, oil is considered the “lifeblood” of Montana’s economy…even though the state has warmed faster than the national average, heating up to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950. [1] Nevertheless:

Montana has never denied a fossil fuel permit, whether for extraction, transportation, or burning fossil fuels. In a 2022 debate, then-candidate Ryan Zinke, now a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, proudly said he wanted no part of the clean energy transition… During this winter’s legislative session, state lawmakers tried to ban teaching scientific theories in K-12 education. They passed new laws that blocked cities from making policies that would encourage non-fossil energy sources. [2]

What these youths did and continue to lobby for is profound, which makes it all the more imperative that the rest of us support their efforts by continuing to press onward for a healthier and greener world. It isn’t just up to the young. They can’t do it on their own, nor should they. The peril of ecological devastation falls more heavily on them while inflicting future generations.  We all have work to do. We must join hands and do all we can to save our planet and God’s beloved Creation. As it is often said, “This is the only home we’ve got.”

Prayer: In your providence, Divine Creator, instill within us the conviction that the best way to cope with climate grief is to do what we can when we can, despite the obstacles and inevitable setbacks. Teach us to stand in solidarity with our children and youth, those of this generation and the next. Grant us your vision of hope; we pray so as to be faithful till the end. We ask this in all the holy names of God. Amen.

[1] Even a 1.8% increase in temperature spells trouble for our climate: imhttps://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/global-warming-18%C2%B0-f-1%C2%B0-c-seems-small-so-why-change-global-temperature

[2] https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/06/inside-the-unexpectedly-wild-landmark-montana-youth-climate-trial/

[3] On this 9/11 anniversary,  we hold dear the memory of all those who lost their lives while carrying the hope for a saner and more compassionate world.   

Awakening

  “I want to do my part,” she said with earnest, “but with so much unraveling taking place across the planet, I wonder if I can do anything.”

  The sage nodded with understanding, “Going in with eyes wide open isn’t cynicism,” he said. “Nor is having severe misgivings about doing your part a sign of hopelessness. What if wanting to do your part despite raging wildfires, upending hurricanes, vitriolic conflicts, and violence inflicted on the most vulnerable is evidence of something more tangible…such as an awakening?”

  “Isn’t everyone awake?” she replied.  

At this, the wizened old man shook his head sadly. “No,” he said. “The awakening I speak of asks something of us. To be awake is to ‘wake up in this world instead of waiting for the next.’ [1] It is choosing to do your part, however small and insignificant that may seem at the time.”  

“But what if others resent it when I do my part?” she responded. “Giving lip service to exercising one’s conscience is one thing. But advocating for those on the margins – the poor, the indigent, the migrant, the homeless, and the welfare of our planet – can get you into trouble. Some are so angry they only see things in terms of winning and losing.”

At this, the sage smiled. “My dear child, if you get into trouble for doing what the conscionable thing to do is, what is the just, the compassionate, and the merciful thing to do, then you will be keeping company with the likes of Francis of Assisi, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King, Jr.” He then added, “Their own awakening meant they had to do their part – however difficult their task and misunderstood they were in their time.” [2]

“Besides,” he added, “you won’t be alone no matter the obstacles. For you will keep company with the saints, the prophets, and the activists who have gone before you and those who stand with you now.”

Closing Prayer: Divine Maker, in the face of so much uncertainty and despair, summon me to keep company with the least of these. Teach me that by doing my part, however seemingly insignificant, I will join those who have been let in on the big divine secret.  That to exercise one’s conscience despite the cost – bestows that most paradoxical of blessings – which is to receive the coming of the Lord. [3]   We offer this in all the holy names of God. Amen. 

[1] Center for Action and Contemplation

[2] https://www.ncronline.org/news/rohr-church-needs-awakening-soul

[] Matthew 24:42