My friend “T” made my Christmas. In response to my Christmas card/letter, he wrote me a letter (like with a stamp!) and shared his heart with me. It helped me to know I wasn’t alone. Some of us are created to feel the world’s sorrow deeply, we carry the grief – maybe somehow it helps those who can’t carry their own. I don’t know; I just know in “T” I have a kindred spirit.
Today, I wanted to write him because I knew the news of the murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minnesota would affect him deeply. Then I realized we are all struggling; I wanted to write to you.
I have spent the afternoon in bed, under the covers where the bad can’t get in. At one point, overwhelmed, I sobbed. I was reminded of the “Prayer of Tears” that Richard Foster describes in his book, Prayer. There really are moments when language collapses under the weight of reality, and tears become the most honest prayer left. “Jesus wept” are only two words in the Bible, but it’s seismic. It tells us that God does not rush past grief, God enters it. Sobs with us.
I’ve read many comments online blaming Renee and Alex instead of ICE. No one should be killed for protesting; it is our right as Americans. And when I hear our government defending the killers – even lying to justify the action – I am truly afraid what may come. History isn’t past. It’s a warning system. Thankfully our moral memory is rich. The life of the great German Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer comes to my mind. As a Christian who resisted the Nazi’s, he was arrested and murdered in the death camps. I thought of this as I watch my clergy friends travel to Minnesota to stand with those protesting against the actions of ICE. They were actually told to get their wills in order before going! Since when does protesting in America get you killed?
Oh, yea, Selma.
I went to view the movie Selma with my friends right before Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Remember when the state made it impossible for black and brown people to vote? I was so moved by the movie, I bought it and watched it again. I took John Lewis’ memoir, Walking with the Wind, off the shelf and began to read. What can we learn from our history?Can we make a change through nonviolence? Nonviolence has always been dangerous to unjust power. That danger is the measure of its truth. Unfortunately, nonviolent protesting may also get you killed – especially if the state/government is behind it as it was in 1968. Martin’s assassination was even celebrated and believed it would stop the Civil Rights movement.
Isn’t it interesting that the Buddhist monks “Walk for Peace” is happening alongside this moment of global and national anguish. They may speak a different language, but hold the same wisdom: suffering is real, desire distorts, and liberation is possible. Christianity at its best has always recognized that truth wherever it appears. Jesus knew suffering. He teaches that we don’t suffer alone; we are promised that God is with us. Jesus tells us that “where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.” Matthew 18:20 Somehow today, this wasn’t comforting me.
During Bible study this morning, I wanted to toss out our scheduled lesson and offer something more relevant. I mean, what does King Solomon have to do with the world today? He was granted wisdom from God, but why spend time learning about the history in the Bible when the world is on fire? And, then I saw it. Solomon wrote:
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
ensure justice for those being crushed.
Speak up for the poor and helpless
and see that they get justice.
Proverbs 31:8-9
God asks us to speak up! God wants us to ensure those being harmed get justice. Peacemaking is active work. Civil disobedience may even be called for – remember Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu during apartheid in South Africa?
During one of my recent classes, we were reminded that we were all created with a purpose. The question – What is mine to do? – matters more than almost any other. Not all of us are called to go to Minnesota (or California). But what’s unmistakable is that our calling includes seeing, remembering, naming, and standing with. We are already doing the work by refusing silence, by connecting the dots, by reminding others that God sides with the crushed. There is a cost to being a justice seeker. Read Luke 14:25-33. Bonhoeffer even wrote a book all about it (The Cost of Discipleship). My next read will be his Letters and Papers from Prison.
History matters. Learn from it. Talk about it. If you can, protest in every way possible. As we do, we are gathering in the name of Jesus. God is with us.
You are loved,
Pastor Linda
Flowers received from a Buddhist monk on the Walk for Peace