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For the sake of empire
The Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern lays out the ways NRA policies have always been shaped by the demands of white supremacy.
[The] killing of security guard Jemel Roberson, taken for a murderer when he tried to stop a crime in the course of his job, was not a surprise. It was the inevitable outcome of the plan that has been unfolding for decades. . . . We now have two categories of US Americans: the “honest citizens” who can–should–go about armed, and the ones for whom bearing arms is certain proof that they are criminals. The armed whites and the disarmed, terrified blacks. (Sermons in Stones, 11.14.18)
Kat Liu reflects on the transition from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
What I object to is the shift from hope for peace to glorification of war. On Veterans Day now, we tell veterans “Thank you for your service,” but we (collectively) do nothing to make their sacrifice less required. Nothing to lessen war. For the sake of empire, we emphasize suffering and death over love and life. (Wizduum, 11.12.18)
What must we do
The Rev. David Miller asks what so many of us are asking: “What must we do?”
I wake and I look at social media and the news and I think am I informed, am I inundated, am I in an echo chamber. . . ? [One] event stops, another begins, we move on. . . .
So what must we do to stop, focus, help ourselves to understand our place in the runaway systems and where we can maintain some control of our spirits in all of this? How can we separate ourselves from the constant din in order to find our way to love and connection or at least use our outrage and incredulity for good instead of being sucked into the fray designed by others? (Facebook, 11.10.18)
The Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long shares part of the Rev. Kendyl Gibbons’s recent sermon about globalism and nationalism.
Two things are true, difficult as it is to hold them both together in our minds at the same time.
The first is that false equivalency is a fantasy we can no longer afford to entertain, and sympathy is not an effective antidote to tyranny. The will to power must be met with power. . . .
At the same time, we must not allow ourselves to become tribal in response to our own fears and alarm. We must hold faithfully to the vision of a world for all humanity, and indeed, all creatures. . . .
We do this, I believe, by becoming the grown ups in the room; by living into our spiritual maturity to the point that we can recognize and manage a toddler’s tantrums without being drawn into escalating shouting matches. (Facebook, 11.12.18; full sermon here)
Doug Muder proposes a legislative agenda for House Democrats, and argues for beginning small.
The question is: What kind of agenda? One school of thought says to go big: Medicare for all, $15 minimum wage, and maybe a basic income guarantee. But I wouldn’t start there. . . . I want to hear news reports about Democrats trying to do something in the public interest and Republicans blocking them, not about Democrats arguing with each other over how radical to be. . . . In short, while bolder initiatives are always possible, there is low-hanging fruit that can be picked first. (The Weekly Sift, 11.12.18)
An easy breath together
The Rev. Sean Dennison acknowledges the testiness so many of us feel.
My loves, I find myself angry, tired, short-tempered and fearful and while all of that may be justified, I know it isn't helping me. I bet some of you are feeling some or all of that as well. Let's take an easy breath together. Let's find one thing that grounds us to focus on. (Facebook, 11.9.18)
The Rev. Beth Johnson invites us to breathe in suffering, and breathe out prayers of love.
Beloveds...
Breathe with me...
Breathe with me and on the inhale feel yourself connected with all who are suffering. It's okay...you can take it.
Breathe with me and on the exhale send prayers of love and protection for all who are frightened, who have lost loved ones, those who have lost their homes. So much loss… (Facebook, 11.10.18)
Love Actually
Liz James writes that, in a divorce, you have to “take yourself all the way down to the bones.”
[You] have to bite down, and rise above, and remember who you want to be. You have to be more honest with yourself than you’ve ever been in your life. . . . You have to make yourself tea and bubble baths and you have to give yourself permission to be this alien, shrieking, snot-oozing version of yourself. You have to just sit in that. It cracks you open, again and again. And you find out the shape you really are, under all that.
You learn to take care of yourself, and then you learn to trust yourself. You learn to try out new stories about yourself, to live in new ways. You find this incredible freedom, and tenderness.
And you watch your partner learn these things, too, and you see your kids blossom now that the grind of despair of the last couple years has lifted…. and you realize that Staying In It Come Hell or High Water is not to be confused with love. (Facebook, 11.12.18)