Category: Truth

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

 

 

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.   

Sentinels Amongst Us

Who would have thought that the most fragile among us are sentinels? Like a watchman posted at the ancient city gate to warn of an impending attack: bees, bats, swallows, aquatic creatures, and canaries are harbingers of disaster as well. Being more susceptible to toxins, the meme, ‘Canary in the coal mine,” refers to the practice adopted in the late 19th century. Used as sentinels to warn against dangerous contaminants, coal miners brought canaries deep into the mine shafts with them.

Like the canaries in the coal mines who perished, many species have succumbed these past decades. Be it the air we breathe, the water we drink, escalating temperatures, flooding, and loss of arable soil coupled with diminished forested lands, the number of creatures on our planet is plummeting. However, they are no longer the only ones at risk. Humans across the globe: the homeless, the impoverished, people of color, and those who labor in crippling heat, such as firefighters and first responders, have joined their ranks.  

Before the rest of us know something is amiss, others continue serving as sentinels.   These prophets and prognosticators warn the rest of us of current and impending danger despite the pushback from those who insist on business as usual. On the streets and byways, they are human harbingers attuned to impending destruction – be it to our democracy, the ever-widening gulf between the haves and have-nots, and the assault upon the planet that sustains us. Like the canary in the coal mine, to ignore them is to do so at our peril.  

Prayer: Divine Maker, thank you for those who serve as vanguards and prophets. Summon us to awaken to your voice and presence, as evidenced in the most fragile and attuned amongst us. We ask this in all the holy names of God. Amen.

[1] This blog is dedicated to a sentinel who has given her life to the service of the earth, humankind, and institutions that seek the common good.    A prophet and prognosticator, she is the canary in the coal mine for the rest of us.   

[2] “US honeybees suffer second deadliest season on record,” The Guardian, June 23, 2023.

 

 

“The Slaughter Right in Front of Us”

  A phrase attributed to Jesus states, “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”  While the never-ending violence comes from guns, not swords, I’ve long struggled with Jesus’ words.  Consider that those demanding or legislating the use of these weapons aren’t the ones slaughtered but the innocent: children in classrooms, young children and families in their homes, and shoppers at grocery stores and shopping malls. They are the ones sacrificed, not those responsible for their proliferation.

  Yet imagine if Jesus’ words weren’t directed solely at perpetrators but at those determined to keep it a way of life.   Those who blindly believe that the slaughter of innocents is a necessary price for freedom.   Those who vigorously dismantle any attempt to limit access to high-capacity rifles because they insist it violates personal rights.   Those whose goal is assuaging their base politically no matter the cost.

  Writes author Clint Smith, “I want to walk past the school where my son will attend kindergarten next year and see a place that will keep him safe. But this is impossible. We live in a country …where legislation is written — and erased — by the gun lobby. Where manipulations and distortions of Second Amendment rights prevent politicians from enacting any semblance of sensible laws that would at least attempt to prevent this. Where claims about what our Founders wanted supersede the slaughter we see right in front of us. Where the cocktail of easily accessible guns and the normalizing of extremist views makes nowhere feel safe.”

  Will there ever come a time when enough is enough?   When truly good citizens will triumph over this madness and make our schools, playgrounds, and markets safe again?   When those for whom the common good is not an alien concept but the ethical framework by which society flourishes?

  Thoughts and prayers are not enough.   Nor will those who continue to prolong this carnage ever change.  We need not “live by the sword,” but as responsible citizens and people of goodwill, we can choose to do all we can to rid our nation of this carnage.

   If your representative is beholden to the gun lobby rather than your child’s safety, the power of the vote is in your hands.  If your news station turns a blind eye or even promotes the use of assault weapons, you don’t have to follow them.   And for those who speak of “constitutional rights” as justification for this slaughter, you can rest assured they lost their moral compass ages ago.

   “Hope is a human virtue,” writes Rabbi Jonathan Sacks,  “…at its ultimate is the belief that God is mindful of our aspirations; [and thus] God has given us the means to save us from ourselves; so we are not wrong to dream, wish and work for a better world.”

  May it be so.  

[1] Credit…Léon Cogniet/Musée des Beaux-Arts, via Alamy

[2] The Gospel of Matthew 26:52

[3] Clint Smith, The Atlantic, No Parent Should Have to Live Like This, May 25, 2022

[4] Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations (London: Continuum, 2003), 207.

Love’s Endeavor

“The endeavor to genuinely love engages all our emotions.” [1]

Imagine if love’s goodness includes facing the obstacle that challenges us?     Which, of course, seems counterintuitive.  If love is genuine, it should be experienced as uplifting, inspiring, or consoling, right?  Any indication otherwise refutes it as satisfying the auspices of love.

Yet what if authentic love insists on not being limited?    What if love means engaging ALL of our emotions?    Those we gravitate to, such as a sense of belonging, intimacy, trustfulness, and tenderness, and those we do our utmost to avoid: raw, fierce,  deeply honest, and fearful emotions.

Loving this way makes a “…personal, spiritual, ethical, and moral demand on us.” [1]  An insistent love, yes, but a wholly inclusive one.  A love not separated from the truth but bound up in it.  A love that is inconvenient and even hurtful at times.   But a love that also moves us beyond sentiment and into the realm of trustful connections, authentic living, and even joy.

Prayer: On this St. Valentine’s Day, Limitless One, we give thanks that your summons to love authentically is not in opposition to living joyfully.  Instead, in your fierceness and fullness, you seek to complete us, humankind, and all Creation.  May we, as your children, incarnate your love, a love not separated from the truth but bound up in it.  We ask this in all the holy names of God. Amen.

  [1]  Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, an author and activist, Rev. Lewis is the Senior Minister for Public Theology and Transformation at Middle Church in NYC