It’s a quiet Saturday morning, the ground still wet from last night’s rain, and the smell of baking bread permeates the house (Yes, I’m up to 12 loaves for the Christmas in July yard sale at the church). The week’s been more than crazy. Between troops in Los Angeles, ICE raids and the uprising at Delaney Hall (Immigrant detainees had not been fed for over 20 hours), it’s time to take a breather reflect on where we are as a Nation.
Where we are is not good. There’s so much anger and fear, so much polarization. And it covers just almost every aspect of our lives. The Southern Baptist Convention says it will push for overturning Obergefell. What would happen to all those same-sex couples? How can we overcome such deep divisions?
We may not be burning people at the stake, literally, that is, but we are doing it figuratively, ostracizing certain groups of people, holding them as something less than human. Where did all this anger, division, and extremism come from? Certainlly one place is the fear of losing an imaginary hold on power and privilege. Just some thoughts on a quiet Saturday morning.
Prayer for the Day
O God, who calls us to be instruments of your peace,
We acknowledge that we look to rules instead of love;
Open us to your spirit of reconciling love,
And wash away from us anger, envy, and jealousy.,.
So we are healed by your grace in our lives
And knit together in community.
In the name of the One who teaches us to live with grace,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
When apparent stability disintegrates, as it must—God is Change--
People tend to give in to fear and depression, to need and greed.
When no influence is strong enough to unify people they divide.
Octavia Butler, American writer, from The Parable of the Sower (1947-2006)
No passion is stronger in the breast of man than the desire to make others believe as he believes. Nothing so cuts at the root of his happiness and fills him with rage as the sense that another rates low what he prizes high
Virginia Woolf, British writer, from Orlando (1882-1941)
We wait for the Lord; God is our help and shield,
Our hearts are glad in the Lord because we trust Go’s holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33: 20-22