In yesterday’s Washington Post the writer Anne Lamott had an interesting opinion piece suggesting that those of us who are overwhelmed need to rest ourselves to recover from the delirium of the past two weeks. Many of us are wondering if we can continue our work in what she called the “desert of harshness.”
During this period of time, she writes, resistance is everywhere you look: in feeding the hungry, caring for LGBT persons who are frightened, providing refuge to the immigrants who care for our elderly in nursing homes. Combined with larger actions in the courts, we need to remember other harsh times and how we emerged and overcame them.
Although she didn’t say it, it is also a time to create a new society, one built on faith, not the narrow beliefs of exclusion, but the broader faith that recognizes every human being as a child of God. Overcoming despair, fear, and hate will not be easy, but we have done it before and we can, with God’s help, do it again.
Prayer for the Day
Enter a season of earlier sunrises, open our eyes to your light,
So we look through the windows of your majesty;
May we always be in awe of your majesty of in the world around us,
So we have a new vision of your world, full of possibilities
Grant that we may have the courage and strength in this time
In order to continue our work for your kingdom.
In the name of the One who came to show us the way,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Even if I knew that tomorrow would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
Martin Luther, church reformer (1483-1546)
[O]ne thing that characterizes deserts is the stillness, until the wind blows. And, boy, when it blows, it’s like an organ. You can hear its shape and power because everything else is so still. How or when will the wind start up? How could we know? But it always does.
Anne Lamott, from ”The Resistance Will Not Be Rushed,” Washington Post
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and God’s ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers, cutting off the remembrance of them.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and rescues them from trouble.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 14-18