Author: Pat Liberty

The First Amendment protects your right to gather and protest. The Second Amendment protects certain rights to keep and bear arms. Storming the State House with assault rifles is, however, way over the top. It moves you from the category of protesters to domestic terrorists. It also illustrates with stunning clarity the privilege you enjoy as white men. If you had been people of color, there surely would have been some violence instigated by law enforcement.

Choosing the Confederate and Nazi flags as symbols of your “cause” is also your right. These symbols, however, beg the question of how such hatred and intolerance has come to define your way of being in the world.

The Confederate and Nazi flags are emblematic of two of the bleakest times in modern human history. The Confederate flag is a symbol of racism, pure and simple. During the Civil War the institution of slavery was the symbol of the status quo. Human beings were bought and sold like animals, and a person of color was considered 3/5 of a human being. The institution of slavery exploited millions of people, brought here against their will and enslaved to white entrepreneurs who depended on their labor to increase profit margins. Your choice of this symbol is a stark reminder that outlawing the institution of slavery has not eradicated racism. It is, however, incumbent on you to remember that the “rights” and “freedoms” you so freely flaunt are guaranteed to all people regardless of the color of their skin.

The Nazi flag is the quintessential symbol of intolerance and hatred. Millions of people were starved to death and slaughtered in the gas chambers of concentration camps. These victims of intolerance were put to death because of what they believed, who they loved, their social standing or their mental/physical ability. Well over six million people were murdered by a despot whom people willingly followed because of a bogus notion that there was a “superior” race and all others needed to be eliminated.

Flying the American flag with these symbols desecrates the flag you claim to care about so deeply. The American flag is a symbol of the rights and freedoms of all people, not just white men of privilege.

You may think that using these symbols makes you a badass protesting big government and standing up for your individual “rights and freedoms.” They do not. Rather, they show a remarkable intolerance to those who are different from you. Racism, Antisemitism, homophobia and other irrational fears of people who are different are inherent in the symbols of your “cause.” There is no way to redeem these symbols for our time. By using them you are tacitly, or blatantly, putting forth the “values” and “ideals” for which they stand. This doesn’t make you a badass; it makes you a bad American. America, at its best, is a nation where the rights and freedoms of all people are equally respected.

America, at its best, is also a nation that respects the rule of law. It is the standard of our society, a standard for which you show blatant disregard. For whatever selfish reason, you think your rights and freedoms are more important than anyone else’s. You are wrong. Flying the American flag with these symbols of hatred and intolerance desecrates the flag you claim to care about so deeply.

This is a time in our history when we need to be other focused and consider the common good above individual rights and desires. It appears that you assert your individual rights before the common good. Your resistance to this general principle of human decency is troubling. Perhaps you can select one or two family members you are willing to sacrifice for the sake of your “personal freedom.” Your grandmother, your child, your sibling or your spouse all make potential candidates for illness and death in the service of your “rights.”

Should you contract Covid-19, please have the human decency to refrain from seeking medical care. You surely have the right to put your life and the life of your cronies at risk. You do not, however, have the right to put health care workers at risk because of your selfishness. Perhaps your precious assault rifle can be the symbol that you are not a priority in health care since you put yourself in this position. Think of it as natural selection.

This blog is a safe space. Comments that are on point and relevant are welcome; disrespectful, hateful and vulgar comments will be removed by the moderator.

Disclaimer as required by Facebook: This website is the sole property of the Rev. Patricia L. Liberty. She is the administrator and is solely responsible for its content. This website receives no remuneration from any individual or entity, foreign or domestic. This website charges no fee for any of its materials, and accepts no donations or advertisements.

Squash, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and more are sprouting in seed trays. Nurtured by regular, but not too much watering, these tiny seeds are bursting into plants that will be summer vegetables. As one who can kill rocks, I am enthralled with this daily process.

What all these young plants have in common is that they reach toward the light. Every day these seedlings lean into the light that spills through the window. The trays are rotated daily to keep the plants growing straight and strong. It is a marvelous thing to behold.

It is also an apt image for us in these uncertain and troubling times. We do our best when we reach toward the light.

In a literal sense, it means going outdoors and soaking up some sunshine. Feeling the sun’s warmth and the cool spring air is bound to raise our spirits.

In a deeper metaphorical sense it means reaching to the light that is within us, within all people and all creation.  Holiness resides at the core of all life. It is part of what it means to be created in the image of the Divine. All around us is holiness.

Light and darkness are repeating themes in most sacred texts. In the First Testament, commonly called the Old Testament, the word light is used 139 times. In the Second Testament, commonly called the New Testament, it is used 93 times. The word light is always used in relation to dispelling darkness, both in the world and in us. The light of the holy within and around us means reaching for wholeness, peace, love and justice.

In the Quran, light is a central concept in understanding Allah. The image of light is prevalent in the beautiful poetry of the Quran. Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.

In Buddhism, Enlightenment is a life-long goal. It refers to the knowledge or wisdom of a Buddha. For millennia, in response to the struggles and sorrows of life on this planet, people use the image of a flame (light) and pass it to one another. It is a way to symbolically take part in the agonizingly slow but impossibly tender awakening of the world as a whole.

There is within us all an inextinguishable light. This inner light dispels the darkness of fear and change. In these days of social isolation when it feels like our light is growing dim, we can nourish it through keeping in touch with close friends and family, enjoying the beauty of spring and engaging in a spiritual practice like meditation or yoga. Ten minutes of quiet and silence per day can be life changing. We are nurtured by all that brings light into our lives. When darkness and fear are overwhelming, we can imagine the light within us and consider what we can do to reach toward it.

The same light that is within us is in every single person. In yoga practice it is common to greet one another saying, “Namaste.” It means that the holy in me greets the holy in you. In the challenge of isolation and being cooped up with partners and children, it can be helpful to remember that the same light shines in us all.

The light that shines within us also shines in all of creation. It means that the ground we tread on is holy, the water is holy, the sky is holy…all of it. We can be deeply nourished by the holiness and light that is around us every day.

These are days of struggle. Life as we know it is and will continue to be radically different. It is unclear exactly what life will look like. Uncertainty is an unsettling thing. It shakes our fragile but persistent delusion that we are in control. In truth, we are in control of very little in our lives. If we have any doubt about this we have only to look at a global pandemic that has ravaged the world and isn’t done yet. This lack of control can be mitigated by seeking the light within and around us.

Reach toward the light. It is good for the soul, good for others and good for all creation.

 

Every now and then it is helpful to look at how planet earth is doing as humans continue to live on it and mess it up. As Earth Day turns fifty today, it seems especially important to look at what has changed and what has not. When Earth Day started in 1970, it was an American celebration. In fifty years, it has become an international event marked in various ways by over one billion people. It is the single largest coordinated effort to care for planet earth.

During the occupant’s administration, environmental regulations have been repealed. Many of them date back to 1970, when the EPA was founded. Most of these changes have passed without recognition. It seems disingenuous to sneak through all these changes while people are busy trying not to die.

According to National Geographic, the occupant has rolled back over ninety regulations related to the environment. The most significant ones include:

• Decreasing safety measures related to offshore drilling.
• Appointing David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for energy and agribusiness, to be Secretary of the Interior.
• Increasing administrative power to block states’ rights to protest oil and gas pipelines.
• Making Andrew Wheeler, former lobbyist for the coal and auto industry, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Signing an Executive Order to increase logging by 31% on public lands.
• Approving the use of seismic devices to search for oil and gas deposits that COULD be buried on the sea floor from New Jersey to Florida.
• Disbanding the Pollution Review Panel of the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Approving decreased fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks.
• Repealing rules related to methane gas emissions.
• Pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord.
• The complete list is here.

According to the Brookings Institution, their annual state of the earth report noted these things about the United States:

• 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide were released in 2017, the last year for which data are available.
• The average American generated 4.5 pounds of solid waste per day. This is up from 3.6 pounds in 1980.
• 718 animal species in the US are listed as threatened or endangered.
• Over two billion dollars were collected from mineral extraction on public lands.
• Only 0.8% of the federal budget is spent on the environment, not including renewable energy.
• Polar ice caps are melting at an unprecedented rate.
• The complete article is here

When it comes to helping planet earth, even the smallest actions can have a great impact. During this time of pandemic and distance learning, one thing we can teach the next generation is reverence for the earth. Here are a few suggestions of small things that make a big difference.

• Save eight gallons of water per day by turning off the water when brushing your teeth– same with handwashing.
• Unplug appliances when not in use. Use power strips to turn off multiple appliances.
• Wash laundry in cold water.
• Turn off the heated dry cycle of the dishwasher.
• Buy eco-friendly household products. Companies like Cleancult have 0% carbon footprint home cleaning products.
• Decrease plastic waste by buying shampoo and conditioner bars from a company like Naples Soap Company.
• Use cloth towels instead of paper towels.
• STOP using plastic water bottles.
• Bring a reusable cup to the coffee shop.
• Invest in a rain barrel for watering plants.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Stop using plastic straws.
• Buy energy efficient light bulbs.
• Opt out of junk mail.
• Switch to e-books, or better yet, visit your public library!
• Recycle old electronics safely.
• Support your local farmer’s market.
• Eat lower on the food chain. One vegetarian meal per week decreases the methane gas produced by agribusiness.

In Genesis 1, the more familiar creation narrative tells humanity to have “dominion” over the earth. Too often this is understood as permission to pillage and plunder. A second narrative in Genesis 2, tells humanity that caring for the earth is a task entrusted to all. “Till the earth and keep it” is the command. It means that taking care of the earth is everyone’s responsibility. We are in partnership with the Holy to be good stewards of this planet. Holding the earth as those who “till it and keep it” means we are to be good stewards of what is entrusted to us. A steward is one who holds another’s property in trust, responsible to the one who owns it. We hold the earth in trust for the Divine. Being good stewards means that we manage resources wisely. Pope Francis said, “We are stewards, not masters of our earth. Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for the precious gift of God’s creation.”

The Ecological Society of America states, “Earth stewardship requires a new ethic of environmental citizenship on the part of individuals, businesses, and governments. This must be based on a clear understanding of the consequences, tradeoffs, and opportunities associated with action choices that influence the trajectory of our planet.”

Planet earth is at a crucial junction. We can still reverse environmental degradation if we act now.

We have been at social distancing, sheltering in place, remote learning and remote working for a month, give or take. Tensions are running high, boredom is setting in and financial woes are lingering on the not too distant horizon. It feels like there is no escape. It’s enough to get on your last nerve.

Try to imagine what it is like to live with this all the time. Social distancing, sheltering in place, remote learning and working are gifts of the privileged. It assumes a place to live where social distancing is possible. Living in your car does not qualify. Sheltering in place also doesn’t work for the homeless living in shelters where guests need to be gone by 9:00 or so in the morning. Remote learning and working assumes access to the internet. One needs a credit card and a credit history for remote purchases and grocery delivery.

People are quick to criticize those who need food and rental assistance after a month without a job. I have heard that “these people” don’t know how to “save;” they “overspend” and “don’t budget.” The truth is that most Americans are no more than one or two paychecks away from financial disaster. There is no place in the United States where one can work a minimum wage job and afford rent as well as the normal costs of living. As a result, people often work two or three jobs and crowd into spaces meant for fewer people to decrease living expenses.

It is a snowball effect. Closer quarters mean increased infection rates of Covid-19. Poor healthcare access means more underlying conditions that are not well managed. Illness means missed time at one or more of their jobs where there is usually no sick pay. High absenteeism leads to job loss. This is the structural inequality of our country.

This is also the daily reality of millions of Americans before the Corona virus. Those who were vulnerable before this crisis will be vulnerable when it is over. That is, if they are not dead.

Add in the reality of systemic racism and you see death rates that are twice as high for people of color as they are for whites. The statistics don’t lie.

The Corona pandemic did not create this situation; rather it exposes it with stunning and troubling clarity.

We have an opportunity, and I would argue a moral imperative, to look with compassion on those who are struggling. Food insecurity, depleting savings (if there are any) and high unemployment means that sometimes those who are struggling are our neighbors, or even us. In our families and our circle of friends there is genuine hardship and difficulty. Perhaps for the first time, people we love are in the same boat with “those people.” It is our opportunity to see that “those people” are no different from most of us.

These days remind us in powerful ways that we are all interconnected. While listening to the Growing Edge podcast with Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer, I was reminded that the ancient gift of hospitality is one that we need to reclaim for this time.

The ancient history of hospitality had nothing to do with inviting people for cocktails and dinner. It was unrelated to using the best china and the sterling silver. It was, instead, a practice of making sure people were cared for, that those around them had what they needed. It was strongly motivated by the question of “When will I need hospitality extended to me?” The question was an acknowledgement that we all take our place in the chair of vulnerability from time to time. And when we do, we hope there will be someone who extends hospitality and care to us.

There are a lot of people in our world who are hoping we extend the ancient gift of hospitality to them. Food pantries are in desperate need of donations to meet increased demands. Schools that are trying to fill the gap in nutrition for students who depend on breakfast and lunch programs are delivering meals to those children. They could use your help. Homeless shelters are always full and soup kitchens are seeing increased need. Domestic violence is on the rise and your local domestic violence resource could use a donation.

Maybe this time can teach us the nature of interconnectedness and move us toward care for all, without judgement and without prejudice. After all, we could be in the chair of vulnerability.

Check out new music and book recommendations above.

This blog is a safe space. Comments that are on point and relevant are welcome; disrespectful, hateful and vulgar comments will be removed by the moderator.

Disclaimer as required by Facebook: This website is the sole property of the Rev. Patricia L. Liberty. She is the administrator and is solely responsible for its content. This website receives no remuneration from any individual or entity, foreign or domestic. This website charges no fee for any of its materials, and accepts no donations or advertisements.

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to know for sure what really happened that first Easter morning. A lot of ink and blood has been spilled in theological fights about it. Frankly, I don’t know if Jesus was physically resuscitated from the dead, and it makes no difference to me one way or the other. You may write me off as a heretic at this point, and I’m okay with that. Just be nice in your comments or I will delete them.

That said, I do believe with my whole being in resurrection. Resurrection is about far more than whether Jesus was raised physically from the dead. Resurrection is about a new way of living in the world. It is about the life and teachings of Jesus embodied in us. It is about our path to wholeness and freedom in the spirit. It is about the justice and mercy of Jesus embodied in us.

Resurrection is risky. It’s personal and it’s now. In this new way of being in the world there is no room for violence and privilege. No one is excluded. All the people we hold at arm’s length are now welcome at the table. We are called to invite them to sit beside us in the pew.

The metric we use to separate people into the left and the right, rich and poor, smart and less smart, good and bad, valuable and less valuable are no longer valid. The identity we have so carefully built on our homes, income and jobs is null and void in a new reality. Our new identity is found in the Holy, in what is good and right and just.

Walter Brueggemann writes, “The defining mark of the Easter world is driven, cosmic generosity that outruns our need and our want and our hope and our desire, to endow us with every gift, most wondrously of all the gift of new possibility. All our prepared destinations are vetoed at Easter.” (A Way Other Than Our Own: Devotions for Lent)

In these days of uncertainty, fear, economic anxiety and so much more, we need the Easter message that is about resurrection. The hope and trust is that we are held by a powerful God who is with us in the midst of it all. God’s presence doesn’t fix it, rather it makes it bearable. This is the promise of new life.

The risen Christ is everywhere around us and within us–at work in the world in every deed of kindness and love, in every act of mercy and grace, in the love we receive and the love we show to one another. The risen Christ is at work in the world, in the cycles of the created order and the rhythm of the seasons. The risen Christ is embodied in everyone who is working together in the midst of this pandemic to bring healing, comfort and relief.  In the midst of the pain of loss and uncertainty, we are in the presence of the risen Christ who says, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid.”

Richard Rohr writes, “All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. Creation has a pattern of wisdom and we dare not shield ourselves from it or we will literally lose our soul. We can obey commandments, believe doctrines and attend church services all our lives and still daily lose our souls if we run from the necessary cycle of loss and renewal. Death and resurrection are lived out at every level of the cosmos, but only one species thinks it can avoid—the human species.” (Daily Mediations, CAC.org)

We cannot avoid the necessary cycles of loss and renewal. We have spent plenty of time in the loss part of the cycle and it isn’t over yet. On this Easter Sunday we want trumpets and joyful singing and loud Alleluias. It may be that Easter comes this year in far quieter and more subtle ways. Maybe this year Easter comes in new insights, in settling into the necessary cycle of loss and renewal and seeing the moments of renewal that come in the midst of the losses.  Life is never all one or the other, but some combination of both at the same time.

Dear readers, I wish you Easter blessings and every lengthening glimpses of the resurrected Christ.

There are still a few religious kooks around saying the Corona Pandemic is the handiwork of God, a punishment for _______; fill in the blank. The usual reasons in their narrow minds are society’s tolerance of homosexuals and abortion. They would have you believe that God has sent this horrible plague on human kind as some way to get humanity’s attention regarding these few hobby horses they like to ride. They could have sent a telegram.

No matter how their hatred arrives, it is pure theological bullshit, plain and simple.

It is not God’s will that:

• People are suffering and dying by the tens of thousands.
• People are losing their homes and their livelihoods.
• People are frightened and lonely in the uncertainty of it all.
• Some are suffering at the hands of another in an abusive relationship.
• Financial ruin is a constant threat hanging over so many peoples’ heads.
• First responders and hospital staff do not have the personal protective equipment they need and are falling ill and dying.
• People are grieving and broken hearted over the death of their loved ones and their inability to be with them.
• Whatever else I have failed to name that is a result of Covid-19.

If there is any message you take from this blog, let it be that this is not God’s will or God’s punishment.

Coronavirus happened somewhere a half a world away because this virus jumped from an animal to a human for reasons that are not entirely clear even now. The contagion of this virus took a little while to figure out and during that time it spread from an area of China to pockets throughout the world. The horrible suffering of people is squarely at the feet of the virus. Those who came to know of its volatility and contagion and did nothing are complicit. Those who failed to lead in the distribution of personal protective equipment are complicit. Those who minimized the threat and failed to listen to scientists whose knowledge of the virus grew daily are complicit. None of this suffering is God’s will.

This is a week where people of the Christian tradition focus on suffering, particularly the suffering of Jesus as he faced the inevitability of the cross.  The problem with suffering is that we tend to lump it all together and make it the same. And then we wrap it up in some language about holiness. We end up with a convoluted theology of suffering that is associated with being or becoming holy. We have made suffering salvific and it is not.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross because he was a threat to Roman power and the religious leaders of his time. Jesus died because he exposed the collusion and evil visited upon people by the Roman Empire and the religious leaders of his day. He was put to death as a criminal who dared challenge the powers of his time. He was a prophet who spoke truth to power. It was the prelude to his suffering on the cross. The cowardice of religious and political leaders who were threatened by Jesus cannot be overstated. Jesus’ death was all about religion and politics run amok in the most evil of ways.

I do not believe that Jesus suffered and died for my sins or anyone else’s. This belief is called substitutionary atonement. I don’t buy it for a minute. Jesus’ death was a particular event in an historical time. The meaning we make out of it for our faith is a matter for lifetime exploration. It is related to what we believe about sin and what we believe about God. If God is so good and loving and wonderful, why did God demand the sacrifice of his only son for appeasement? Are we born sinful because of Adam and Eve in the garden? What we believe about Jesus’ suffering is connected to everything else we believe.

I believe that sin is inevitable, not intrinsic. It is easier to follow in the ways of the world than submit to the relentless love of God that never lets us go and never lets us off. We are always and ever God’s beloved. God, however, calls us to a life of faithful obedience to the ways of Jesus. We are to be people of love and justice, mercy and peace. To the extent that we benefit from the powers and principalities of the world that privilege us and deprive others, it is the same scenario that put Jesus to death.

Jesus’ suffering and death at the hands of political and religious corruption is not remotely connected to the suffering caused by the Corona Pandemic.

In this week let’s be clear about the difference between human suffering and what caused Jesus to suffer. Human suffering is often capricious; Jesus endured suffering because he refused to give up his convictions.

There are still a few religious kooks around saying the Corona Pandemic is the handiwork of God, a punishment for _______; fill in the blank. The usual reasons in their narrow minds are society’s tolerance of homosexuals and abortion. They would have you believe that God has sent this horrible plague on human kind as some way to get humanity’s attention regarding these few hobby horses they like to ride. They could have sent a telegram.

No matter how their hatred arrives, it is pure theological bullshit, plain and simple.

It is not God’s will that:

• People are suffering and dying by the tens of thousands.
• People are losing their homes and their livelihoods.
• People are frightened and lonely in the uncertainty of it all.
• Some are suffering at the hands of another in an abusive relationship.
• Financial ruin is a constant threat hanging over so many peoples’ heads.
• First responders and hospital staff do not have the personal protective equipment they need and are falling ill and dying.
• People are grieving and broken hearted over the death of their loved ones and their inability to be with them.
• Whatever else I have failed to name that is a result of Covid-19.

If there is any message you take from this blog, let it be that this is not God’s will or God’s punishment.

Coronavirus happened somewhere a half a world away because this virus jumped from an animal to a human for reasons that are not entirely clear even now. The contagion of this virus took a little while to figure out and during that time it spread from an area of China to pockets throughout the world. The horrible suffering of people is squarely at the feet of the virus. Those who came to know of its volatility and contagion and did nothing are complicit. Those who failed to lead in the distribution of personal protective equipment are complicit. Those who minimized the threat and failed to listen to scientists whose knowledge of the virus grew daily are complicit. None of this suffering is God’s will.

This is a week where people of the Christian tradition focus on suffering, particularly the suffering of Jesus as he faced the inevitability of the cross.  The problem with suffering is that we tend to lump it all together and make it the same. And then we wrap it up in some language about holiness. We end up with a convoluted theology of suffering that is associated with being or becoming holy. We have made suffering salvific and it is not.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross because he was a threat to Roman power and the religious leaders of his time. Jesus died because he exposed the collusion and evil visited upon people by the Roman Empire and the religious leaders of his day. He was put to death as a criminal who dared challenge the powers of his time. He was a prophet who spoke truth to power. It was the prelude to his suffering on the cross. The cowardice of religious and political leaders who were threatened by Jesus cannot be overstated. Jesus’ death was all about religion and politics run amok in the most evil of ways.

I do not believe that Jesus suffered and died for my sins or anyone else’s. This belief is called substitutionary atonement. I don’t buy it for a minute. Jesus’ death was a particular event in an historical time. The meaning we make out of it for our faith is a matter for lifetime exploration. It is related to what we believe about sin and what we believe about God. If God is so good and loving and wonderful, why did God demand the sacrifice of his only son for appeasement? Are we born sinful because of Adam and Eve in the garden? What we believe about Jesus’ suffering is connected to everything else we believe.

I believe that sin is inevitable, not intrinsic. It is easier to follow in the ways of the world than submit to the relentless love of God that never lets us go and never lets us off. We are always and ever God’s beloved. God, however, calls us to a life of faithful obedience to the ways of Jesus. We are to be people of love and justice, mercy and peace. To the extent that we benefit from the powers and principalities of the world that privilege us and deprive others, it is the same scenario that put Jesus to death.

Jesus’ suffering and death at the hands of political and religious corruption is not remotely connected to the suffering caused by the Corona Pandemic.

In this week let’s be clear about the difference between human suffering and what caused Jesus to suffer. Human suffering is often capricious; Jesus endured suffering because he refused to give up his convictions.

Disclaimer as required by Facebook: This website is the sole property of The Rev. Patricia L. Liberty. She is the administrator and is solely responsible for its content. This website receives no remuneration from any individual or entity, foreign or domestic. This website charges no fees for any of its materials and accepts no advertisements.

Further Disclaimer: This blog is a safe space. Respectful, on topic comments and discussion are welcome. Any comments containing insults, slurs or profanity will be removed by the administrator.

Brooding has gotten a bad name. Some dictionaries define it as a “dark mood, dwelling on an unfortunate situation or outcome, or a toxic kind of rumination.” There are other definitions that are a bit more positive, “daydream, grieve, meditate, deliberate and dream.” Under all the definitions is the question, “what meaning do we make out of this time?” It depends on the framework we use.

In Genesis 1, God broods over the water (the newer translations use the word “spirit,” but the original Hebrew is “broods”). Hens sit on their nests and brood. In both instances, something new comes out of it, either the created order or a bunch of baby chicks, both of which are pretty amazing.

I am choosing the framework of creativity. This is in no way Poly-Anna nonsense, nor is it intended to minimize the difficulty and pain many people are experiencing. There is much about this time that royally sucks. Depression and anxiety are real and need to be treated. There are emergency mental health services available by Skype, Facetime or other platforms. Watch your local news updates for information. That said, there are some things we tend to lose sight of when things are awful.

Here are some things to brood about this week. I hope they offer a word of encouragement and an opportunity for reflection as you find your way through this challenging and painful time.

• Grief is what comes in the space that is often beyond words. It has a place in these days and is not to be hurried by on the way to another easier feeling. Take the time to grieve what and who has been lost in these days and weeks.
• There is much that is not clear and it is ours to give some serious thought to what it means to live with ambiguity. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “Be patient toward all that is unresolved in you and try to love the questions themselves.…”
• There is little in this life over which we actually have control.
• Think about what is possible in these days of self-isolation. Get to know yourself in a deeper way through sitting quietly, if only for a few minutes. Ask yourself how you might want to be different when this is “over.”
• Give yourself permission to not function at the usual 110% we are programmed to put out.
• We are one global community. It is on us to be good citizens of the world, not just the little corner where we live.
• The people who keep this country going–grocers, truckers, trash collectors and other traditionally “low wage” earners–need and deserve to make a living wage. We cannot do without them. They deserve our thanks for the work they are doing. Instead of being grouchy about what the market doesn’t have, focus on thanking the person behind the register.
• Health care workers, first responders and others routinely put their own well-being and that of their families second to the needs of the sick. They deserve our unending thanks for their work.
• The place of the arts in our lives is not optional. We depend on beauty to make sense of everything else. Music, books, movies and television can feed us like nothing else.
• If CEOs can donate a chunk of their salaries to make sure their workers keep getting paid, what’s to stop them from taking a pay cut so workers making a living wage is the rule rather than the exception?
• There is so little that we need. Much of the stuff in our lives is extraneous; part of what we may discover is how little we really need.

Howard Thurman wrote, “There must be always remaining in every life some place for the singing of angels, some place for that which itself is breathtakingly beautiful.” May you find that beautiful place in your life as you live through these days.

 

 

Chinese Food: Not Racist

Italian Sausage: Not Racist

Swiss Cheese: Not Racist

Brazilian Wax: Not Racist

Belgian Waffle: Not Racist

Greek Salad: Not Racist

Cuban Sandwich: Not Racist

Irish Coffee: Not Racist

Chinese Virus RACIST

No one is flinging Belgian Waffles or Swiss Cheese at anyone. But people are spitting at, yelling at and being violent toward Asian Americans.  The difference between Belgian Waffles, Swiss Cheese and “Chinese Virus” is fear.  No one is afraid of a Belgian Waffle or an Italian Sausage. People are afraid of Covid-19. And fear makes people do funky things, like blame others and marginalize those they think are to blame. In the midst of a pandemic, fear is the least helpful emotion. It lies at the base of violence toward Asian Americans.

The occupant’s penchant for continuing to call it the “Chinese Virus” isn’t helping. Reading from notes Thursday at a press conference, the word Corona was crossed out and “Chinese” was inserted. When asked about it he said, “It is not racist at all, no.” The occupant is wrong. It is racist and unhelpful. This rhetoric is combined with his larger anti-immigrant stance where, in the last few months he has used the words predator, invasion, alien, killer, criminal and animal more than 500 times. The sum of it all contributes to xenophobia and division among the American people at a time when we need to be united against a common threat–the virus, not a particular people.

According to NBC news, the response from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs encouraged the United States to play a “constructive role” to safeguard international public health. Further, a spokesperson from the Ministry said, “We hope the United States will respect objective facts, respect international public opinion, do its own thing, stop constantly shifting its attitude and stop slandering other countries.”

Historically, the United States has blamed other countries for global pandemics. For example, the influenza epidemic of 1918 is commonly referred to as the Spanish Flu.  Scientists, however, are almost all in agreement that this flu actually started in the Midwest of the United States. Yet, the name persists. It reflects that blaming energy that wants to separate us from any responsibility for what is happening in the world.

There is, at our most base nature, a tendency to think of ourselves and our own first. We often gather more than what we need at the expense of others. We disregard directives from those whose perspective is far larger than our own puny desires. Witness the number of students on spring break in Florida who ignored directives to leave the beaches and continued their vacation festivities. They will come home to infect their parents, grandparents, and who knows who else. This will contribute to the inevitable second wave of Covid 19.

History shows that pandemics come in three waves. We are in the first wave right now and the current directives are aimed at minimizing the impact of the second wave. History shows that the second wave is often more serious than the first. As directives are loosened (usually by people who are bored with doing what they have been told) people return to their usual activities and the infection rates often rise precipitously.

The tendency to blame and shame does not summon the better angels of our nature. It comes from fear and leads to destructive thinking. This is a time to offer our best selves to the world in faithfulness and humility.  It is a time to recognize our global humanity and do what we can to stop the racist naming of Covid 19.  Take a risk, correct someone else. Explain why it is racist and not like Belgian Waffles. Perhaps you will give someone something to think about.

Walter Brueggeman, an Old Testament Scholar, writes that we have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility to “…shape our future and present in compassion and not hostility, not in abandonment, but in solidarity…not in estrangement but in wellbeing.” (A Way Other Than Our Own, Devotions for Lent)

We share a worldwide covenant with people of every nation and language and faith. We are one human community.  If this pandemic teaches us anything, it will be how connected we truly are. A virus that started in one specific place has become a global phenomenon in a very short amount of time.  We belong to one another. Let us belong with love and mercy.

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Chinese Food: Not Racist

Italian Sausage: Not Racist

Swiss Cheese: Not Racist

Brazilian Wax: Not Racist

Belgian Waffle: Not Racist

Greek Salad: Not Racist

Cuban Sandwich: Not Racist

Irish Coffee: Not Racist

Chinese Virus RACIST

 

No one is flinging Belgian Waffles or Swiss Cheese at anyone. But people are spitting at, yelling at and being violent toward Asian Americans.  The difference between Belgian Waffles, Swiss Cheese and “Chinese Virus” is fear.  No one is afraid of a Belgian Waffle or an Italian Sausage. People are afraid of Covid-19. And fear makes people do funky things, like blame others and marginalize those they think are to blame. In the midst of a pandemic, fear is the least helpful emotion. It lies at the base of violence toward Asian Americans.

The occupant’s penchant for continuing to call it the “Chinese Virus” isn’t helping. Reading from notes Thursday at a press conference, the word Corona was crossed out and “Chinese” was inserted. When asked about it he said, “It is not racist at all, no.” The occupant is wrong. It is racist and unhelpful. This rhetoric is combined with his larger anti-immigrant stance where, in the last few months he has used the words predator, invasion, alien, killer, criminal and animal more than 500 times. The sum of it all contributes to xenophobia and division among the American people at a time when we need to be united against a common threat–the virus, not a particular people.

According to NBC news, the response from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs encouraged the United States to play a “constructive role” to safeguard international public health. Further, a spokesperson from the Ministry said, “We hope the United States will respect objective facts, respect international public opinion, do its own thing, stop constantly shifting its attitude and stop slandering other countries.”

Historically, the United States has blamed other countries for global pandemics. For example, the influenza epidemic of 1918 is commonly referred to as the Spanish Flu.  Scientists, however, are almost all in agreement that this flu actually started in the Midwest of the United States. Yet, the name persists. It reflects that blaming energy that wants to separate us from any responsibility for what is happening in the world.

There is, at our most base nature, a tendency to think of ourselves and our own first. We often gather more than what we need at the expense of others. We disregard directives from those whose perspective is far larger than our own puny desires. Witness the number of students on spring break in Florida who ignored directives to leave the beaches and continued their vacation festivities. They will come home to infect their parents, grandparents, and who knows who else. This will contribute to the inevitable second wave of Covid 19.

History shows that pandemics come in three waves. We are in the first wave right now and the current directives are aimed at minimizing the impact of the second wave. History shows that the second wave is often more serious than the first. As directives are loosened (usually by people who are bored with doing what they have been told) people return to their usual activities and the infection rates often rise precipitously.

The tendency to blame and shame does not summon the better angels of our nature. It comes from fear and leads to destructive thinking. This is a time to offer our best selves to the world in faithfulness and humility.  It is a time to recognize our global humanity and do what we can to stop the racist naming of Covid 19.  Take a risk, correct someone else. Explain why it is racist and not like Belgian Waffles. Perhaps you will give someone something to think about.

Walter Brueggeman, an Old Testament Scholar, writes that we have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility to “…shape our future and present in compassion and not hostility, not in abandonment, but in solidarity…not in estrangement but in wellbeing.” (A Way Other Than Our Own, Devotions for Lent)

We share a worldwide covenant with people of every nation and language and faith. We are one human community.  If this pandemic teaches us anything, it will be how connected we truly are. A virus that started in one specific place has become a global phenomenon in a very short amount of time.  We belong to one another. Let us belong with love and mercy.