Today marks the midpoint of winter. Theoretically, it seems very theoretically, we are headed to spring, the vernal equinox which will occur on March 20 at 10:46 AM. It certainly doesn’t look like spring is on its way out there, and, the weather forecasters tell us we are in for even more cold, something most of us really didn’t want to heard.
The deep freeze also envelops Minneapolis and its suburbs, where ICE has also taken more 10-year old violent criminals and broke into an apartment to take a high school student. The Columbia Heights school system issued a statement condemning ICE trying to come onto school property, circling the schools, and targeting students based on their “apparent” ethnicity. After all Justice Kavanagh said it was okay to be racist.
New Jersey’s new governor has committed herself to protecting our immigrants and citizen targets based on their appearance or accent. The state is setting up a citizen portal whereby anyone seeing ICE can report the events involved. Why? Because ICE “has not been forthcoming” about who is targeted and what happens next. It’s been the courageous Minnesotans videoing ICE that has broken past its lies about what it does. Our turn may come soon, so get your phone cameras ready.
Prayer for the Day
You know, O God, how we admire courage in others,
But are fearful of its consequences for us;
You know, O Lord, how we have watched others in the bitter cold,
But wonder if we could do the same for our neighbors.
Give us the strength and courage to proclaim your kingdom,
One of justice and mercy, peace and love.
In the name of the One who is our strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Mark Twain, quintessential American writer (1835-1910)
Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it.
C. JoyBell C., American poet and writer
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
If the Lord had not been my help, I would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the ears of my heart are many, your consolation cheers my soul.
Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
But you, O Lord, have become my stronghold, and my God, the rock of my refuge.
God will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness;
The Lord our God will wipe them out.
Psalm 94: 16-23