The Irreverent Reverend

The Rev. Dr. John Thomas

Former General Minister and President, UCCMember of UCC Palestine Israel Network

The situation is complex. But complexity is no excuse for silence. The situation is frequently framed as ancient, intractable religious rivalries and hatreds. But the conflict of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is primarily a political one based on political decisions made by political actors for political purposes. More often than not, religion has been the rationale used to justify political acts. And the situation invites despair. Yet our long-standing Palestinian partners, Christian and Muslim, as well as man Jewish Israelis and American Jews with whom we as a church are in relationship, consistently call us to hope as the durable foundation for courage in the struggle for justice and peace. So, what shall we say?

First, we must reject the current violence and refuse to grant it any legitimacy. The assault on civilian lives in Israel by Hamas, and now the indiscriminate violence launched by Israel and applauded by many in the international community including the United States against the residents of Gaza, along with the denial of access to water, electricity and critical medical supplies, cannot be condoned. Understood, yes. Justified, no. Our lament and prayers for the bereaved, the besieged, and the captive are a meaningful expression of our Christian faith that calls us to compassion for and solidarity with the vulnerable. But they must be coupled with clear calls for a cessation of violence and the safe return of hostages even if those calls seem drowned out by cries for revenge or the adoption of violent strategies aimed at future political advantage whether embraced by Hamas, Israel, or foreign powers including the United States.

Second, our prayers must name both Israeli and Palestinian victims equally. And we must resist the temptation to assign gradations of suffering based on which “side” has endured higher numbers of deaths or injured. Grief is not experienced in the aggregate, but by individual loved ones–partners, children, grandchildren, parents. A common humanity invites equal and shared compassion and respect regardless of the flag under which someone lives. Collective demonization dishonors the God who is creator of all. Further, while we understandably grieve, pray for the dead, injured, and vulnerable civilians, soldiers also require our prayers. They, too, have loved ones. They, too, have hopes and dreams and fears. The lives of all combatants will be changed, and in many cases shadowed by the events of this and coming weeks.

Third, we must seek to understand. The current violence is horrible. But it was entirely predictable. We must understand that the creation of the state of Israel was never negotiated with the Arab population that had lived in Palestine for centuries. Rather it was imposed on them by a series of decisions going back to the end of World War 1 made primarily by European colonial powers and ultimate supported by the United States and the United Nations. A brief war of resistance ended in victory for the Israeli army, the destruction of over five hundred Palestinian villages, and the creation of a Palestinian refugee population of 750,000 that today lives in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza and numbers 5.6 million people. Palestinians refer to these events as “the Nakba,” the Catastrophe.

We must understand that twenty years later, following the Six Day War in 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and took control of Gaza, all territory that had been promised to Palestinians as the basis for a sovereign state. Over the ensuing fifty plus years of occupation Israel has imposed on Palestinians humiliating and disruptive restrictions on travel, employment, home building, and religious observance. During this period a Separation Barrier was erected dividing Palestinians from Israelis, appropriating more Palestinian land, and separating many Palestinians from their families, their work, and the agricultural fields. Over 125 Israeli settlements—illegal under international law—have been established in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and over 100 unauthorized settlements have been established as well. Large portions of the West Bank are off limits to Palestinians, and a separate road system for settlement residents further divides Palestinians from one another. Security checkpoints throughout the West Bank, and a pass system, disrupt travel for many and make it impossible for others. In 2005 Israel imposed a land and sea blockage that severely restricts access to jobs and the traditional fishing industry. Unemployment in Gaza approaches 50%. The economy is largely dependent on foreign aid administered by the UN. Today Gazans live in deplorable and demoralizing conditions often described as a “large, outdoor prison.”

Finally, we must understand the impact of contemporary events on the Palestinian community. They have watched settlements grow throughout the West Bank and in Jerusalem with no accountability demanded by the international community. They have watched as their children are arrested, detained, and tried in Israeli military courts. They have watched the United States continue to contribute billions of dollars to Israel without exacting any pledges that might lead toward ending the Occupation or the establishment of a Palestinian state. They have watched military incursions into their cities that have led to the deaths of countless Palestinians. They have watched Democratic and Republican administrations endorse Israeli policies, move the US embassy to Jerusalem, and midwife the so-called Abrahamic Accords with Arab nations without exacting any binding commitment to the Palestinians. And they have now watched a far-right Israeli cabinet installed that includes members calling for annexation of the entire West Bank and changes to the judicial system that threaten to undermine the last moderating influences on settlement expansion.

Palestinians are admonished to be non-violent in the struggle for justice. Yet non-violent resistance by Palestinians and their international supporters in the form of protests, truth forums, human rights reports, or economic pressure through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement have been suppressed, named anti-Semitic, or declared illegal in Israel and even in the United States. Peaceful civil societal groups in Israel calling for more just treatment of Palestinians are sanctioned. Even non-violent pro-Palestinian gatherings in response to the current violence are vilified and declared illegitimate. Armed resistance throughout the years has been met with overwhelming Israeli military force and devastating human and economic consequences for Gaza. Patience is encouraged, but results merely in acquiescence to an unacceptable status quo. Negotiations have been premised on impossible  prerequisite demands. In the face of dispossession and expulsion, the failure to achieve a sovereign state with the prospect of an enduring second class citizenship with an Israeli controlled establishment, the sense of permanence in the refugee status of so many of their fellow Palestinians, the daily humiliations of the Occupation, the lack of personal economic opportunity, and the inability to worship at holy sites, we must understand why some Palestinians see violence as the only viable option even if it means inevitable and overwhelming retaliation, destruction and death.

To identify the conditions that allow us to predict a violent future is not to condone or justify that violence. It is to warn us that failure to change those conditions sentences both Israelis and Palestinians to a grim future. Historical context and contemporary challenges provide us with critical understanding surrounding the decision by some Palestinians to resort to the violence we have seen this month. But that understanding also serves as a warning. Absent meaningful movement toward an end of the Occupation and negotiations that lead to a just peace marked by adherence to acceptable standards of human rights and the rules of international law, violence affecting the lives of both Palestinians and Israelis will be a predictable mark of the future. Kairos Palestine, a Christian ecumenical movement for nonviolent action and a United Church of Christ global partner, offers this prophetic interpretation of the violence we are watching today. Speaking to their Israeli neighbors, the writers remind us,

“This war came to say that weapons do not protect, and the strong who underestimate the weak will not protect themselves nor will they find security. Safe hearts are safe strongholds. Palestinian hearts, if their full freedom, dignity and state are returned to them, are your only protection.”

I am indebted to Wilhelm Kuhner and his slim volume, The Christian Flag, its muddy history and ongoing relevance to us all for much of the material in this blog.

This week Torrington, CT, became the latest city to allow a Christian flag to be flown on a municipal flagpole. City officials defended the decision saying it would bring unity among Christian traditions. Last year the city of New Britain, CT, made the same decision. Around the country cities and towns are re-evaluating their flag flying policies.

This is happening due to a rare unanimous Supreme Court decision (in Shurtleff v Boston) that found the city of Boston had discriminated against a Christian group by not allowing it to fly a Christian flag at city hall. The city allows other groups to hoist flags when they have ceremonies on the steps of city hall. Therefore, not allowing a Christian group to do the same was cited as a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. The ACLU agreed.

The city of Boston reasoned that flying a Christian flag amounted to a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof.…” The city held the position that flying a Christian flag on a city flagpole was a tacit endorsement of Christianity. They lost as SCOTUS ruled in favor of Shurtleff.

This is a very slippery slope. Would the same decision be made if the issue was flying a Star of David flag at an anti-Semitism protest? Would the same decision be made if the issue was flying a crescent moon with a star, the flag of Islam? Methinks not.

In addition, the Christian flag is not universally supported as a symbol of Christianity or Christian unity. Its roots stretch back to the late 1800’s when a Sunday school superintendent on Coney Island gave an impromptu speech about the need for a central Christian symbol. The idea seems innocent enough, but the lived out history is far more problematic.

The Christian flag has always had a political agenda and has been bandied about by conservatives and progressives since its beginning. In 1942 the Federal Council of Churches, a predecessor body to the National Council of Churches, “Issued recommendations on the use of flags in church buildings in response to requests by church groups” as American(s) entered the Second World War. Unity and tolerance movements spread to combat rising ethnic and religious intolerance and bigotry. Christian flags were given to churches, schools and municipalities to promote unity. While well intended, these practices did showcase Christianity at the expense of other religions.

In our contemporary society the Christian flag is far more likely to be associated with conservative rather than progressive theology. As Christian nationalism is on the rise and xenophobia is rampant, the Christian flag has been claimed by religious conservatives to serve their social and political agenda. However well-intentioned the Christian flag was at its inception, it currently does not represent the many and varied expressions of Christian faith in the United States.

This undercurrent of muddy waters makes its appearance on municipal flag poles even more problematic. I agree with the city of Boston that it does suggest a tacit agreement with what the flag currently represents. SCOTUS and the ACLU are doggedly holding to free speech as the issue.   

SCOTUS has been inconsistent with its rulings on the separation of church and state. In 1948 it ruled that religious education in public schools was unconstitutional. Almost seventy-five years later, the Court does an about face with its 2022 decision in Shurtleff v. Boston. The conservative face of the today’s Court and its leanings toward Christian nationalism make their decision understandable, but no less troubling.

Unless a Jewish and Muslim flag have equal access to municipal flag poles for their celebrations, this remains an establishment issue and not a free speech issue. Or perhaps it is a free speech issue…for some.

We all can recall with stunning clarity where we were on September 11^th. It will be forever seared into our memory, mind and heart. I was standing in line at my favorite coffee shop on my way to the office. I watched the TV in the corner in disbelief as my phone rang. My then-spouse was home recovering from surgery. She said, “If the world is coming to an end, I want you home.” Indeed no one really knew what was going on. After watching the replay on TV for the umpteenth time, I turned the TV off and listened to NPR. I didn’t need to see it one more time. 

At the time I was writing a weekly column for our local newspaper. My first article after September 11^th mused on how we might make a non-violent response to this disaster, among other things. The letters to the editor were scathing. I received hate mail, threats to burn down my house, threats to my person and was called every name in the book. The police made regular trips past my house and office for several weeks until things settled down. I would write the same article today, maybe even more forcefully.

The lessons from twenty-two years ago reinforce the truth that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves the whole world hungry and blind. We have learned to be fearful of those who are different from us. We have fallen prey to paranoia and see enemies everywhere. We have all become profilers when it comes to looking at Middle Eastern people. We have learned, once again, that might makes right and the divisions among nations have grown deeper and more vitriolic. We learned to take off our shoes at the airport and not carry more than three ounces of any one liquid. I had to throw away a full tube of toothpaste and a $25.00 lipstick for failing to follow the rules. To be truthful I was a little cranky about it. My niece worked for TSA and the verbal abuse she took from people was disgusting.

There are other lessons, though, that are heartening and restore faith in human nature. First responders were extraordinary in their response and their commitment to save people. Medical personnel worked round the clock to provide services to the injured. Nearby churches opened their doors for weary first responders to sleep. Restaurants gave away food; there were heartfelt kindnesses shared with strangers. As we witnessed the worst of what humans can do to each other, we also witnessed the best. We learned that people can be decent and kind and good, even when their hearts and spirits are broken.

None of us will ever forget September 11^th, and that is good. Let us, however, choose to remember the deeds of kindness and acts of heroism. Let us sing the songs of the unsung heroes and remember all the ways the best of human nature was on full display. Let that challenge the fearmongering and suspiciousness that invades us like a virus. Let us remember that we could have followed a path of love through the horrible days in the aftermath of September 11^th. It’s not too late to follow that path now. Remember the words of Romans 12:21: “Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with Good.”

When the Spanish women’s soccer team won the World Cup, Coach Luis Rubiales kissed Jennifer Hermosa on the lips. He said it was consensual. Here’s why it wasn’t.

Any kiss that happens when a woman’s head is held on either side by a man’s hands is not consensual. In essence he had her head in a vice grip. There is no consent when you can’t move your head. This was not a kiss, it was sexual assault. To those of you who think this is overblown, after all it was just a kiss, it’s time for some remedial education about the agency women have over their own bodies.

Equally troubling is what has happened since then. These events point to a culture of misogyny and sexism that is more than an isolated assault. It’s just that this one happened on international television.

Rubiales flatly refused to resign his position as Coach stating that he was the victim! The position of Coach is a powerful one in the lives of players. The one who has the power always has the responsibility to set and maintain an appropriate boundary. He claimed he was a victim of “false feminism” and said he was being “socially assassinated.” It implies that the women never complain about the other things that happen on the team and now that there has been a public sexual assault, their feminism is somehow feigned and therefor dismissed. What a crock. The issue here is that he is being held accountable for his behavior and he doesn’t like it one bit. Rubiales plays the feminist card to deflect attention from his own behavior and shift responsibility from him to Ms. Hermosa.

Rubiales, who is also the head of the Spanish Soccer Federation, said he should be more careful when acting or speaking on behalf Federation. Nowhere in his comment is any commitment to not sexually assaulting women. That speaks volumes about the culture of women’s soccer. He also refused to resign his position with the Federation. He has since been suspended.

The Spanish Soccer Federation released a statement on Ms. Hermosa’s behalf stating that it was a spontaneous mutual gesture. No, just no. He further disempowered her by putting words in her mouth and dismissing the comments she made directly to the media.

 Rubiales made a comment that this was the same kiss he would give his daughters. Quick, someone call Child Protective Services. He is teaching his daughters that men can control women’s bodies and touch them how and when they wish. He is diminishing the agency his daughters have over their own bodies.

His “apology” is a typical non-apology. “I’m sorry you felt that way.” Women who are sexually assaulted do not need men apologizing for their feelings. It is demeaning. A real apology looks something like, “I am so sorry, I was totally out of line.”

There is a pervasive unspoken culture that men have access to women’s bodies, not needing their consent or permission. ATTENTION ALL MEN: You need permission to touch our bodies. And we deserve to set limits on how our bodies are touched without recrimination or name calling. Men need to take responsibility for their behavior and respect women’s bodies. Period.

As a woman in a historically male profession, I am continually astounded by the access men assume when it comes to my body. Over the last forty-five years I have been subjected to unwanted hugs and kisses, an arm around the waist or the shoulder, inappropriate comments about how I am dressed, or about particular parts of my body. When I speak up and set a limit I have been called a rabid feminist, a bitch, hypersensitive and not able to take a joke. This pervasive assumption of access to women’s body is the result of living in a patriarchal society. Men have more power, men are valued over women and women are objectified. Women are often professionally evaluated on the basis of our looks rather than our skills. While it is somewhat better now than it was forty-five years ago, there is still room for improvement.

So, should Rubiales resign? Absolutely. There needs to be a severe consequence for sexually assaulting a woman on international television. A clear message about the abusive nature of his behavior needs to be sent to the international community. Sexual assault has a lasting effect on women. It is time there was some consequence for men.

Imagine 6,500 people from 95 countries representing 212 religious traditions gathered in one place to work together to address the most pressing issues of our world.

No need to imagine. The Parliament of World Religions started its meeting August 14, 2023 in Chicago, IL. The purpose of their gathering is to build trust, relationship and interfaith collaboration, to address the crucial issues of our times.

Why this is not smeared across the front page of every newspaper in the country, all social media and every news outlet is a mystery to me. This is big stuff. Leaders come together with the belief that interfaith collaboration holds a key to solving the ills of the world. They come with an attitude of respect and openness, acknowledging the differences in faith and believing in the possibility of unity, which is not to be confused with uniformity.

Unity enables diverse groups of people to come together around shared values and goals, working together for relief and solutions for those in need. Uniformity tries to shove everyone in the same mold and have everyone come out looking the same and believing the same. Needless to say, it has never worked.

Not intending to be cynical, but given that protestant churches can’t agree on whether to say “debts” or “trespasses” in the Lord’s prayer, or if/how the actual presence of Christ is in the Lord’s Supper, it seems like a tall order to address religious genocide, sectarian violence, and the plethora of religious dissensions that exist around the world.

Still, it is a great idea with a great history. According to the website of the Parliament of World Religions, “The organization was founded on a mission to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and to foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions to address the critical issues of our time. The Parliament was incorporated in 1988 to carry out a tradition and legacy that dates back to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the historic first convening of the World’s Parliament of Religions created a global platform for engagement of religions of the east and west.”

It seems that a little trickledown energy would be a good thing here. We know trickledown economics doesn’t work, but maybe trickledown energy and learning might. Imagine if religious leaders from a community came together and talked about something other than dwindling memberships and budget problems and pooled their energy and money on a project that could make a real difference in people’s lives. For example, an after school program for kids that includes tutoring, joining forces to advocate for more affordable housing, educating our religious communities to accept multi-unit family units to make home ownership more accessible to a larger population of people. There are environmental projects that would benefit from united interfaith voices that address local issues of concern. It’s impossible for one group of dedicated religious leaders to do it all, but to choose a project and stick to it can make a real difference in the life of a community.

There are churches that are starting community meals that are open to all, and they are growing! They provide quality food and fellowship for diverse groups of people. It builds community, and a lot of things start there.

A church in Rhode Island opened the first adult day center over fifty years ago and has continued to lead the way in superior care for vulnerable elderly adults regardless of level of physical or cognitive ability. Their program set the national standard for adult day care and now hundreds of centers exist around the country.

Our political process (such that it is) needs advocates to speak for the poor and needy. As civil rights for LGBTQIA people are eroding at an alarming rate, straight allies are needed to speak up and communicate with legislators. We are way past the time for signing petitions and thinking we have done our civic duty.

The options are endless. The point is, gather together and work together. The harvest is plenty laborers are few (Matthew 9:37).

We are our stories; they speak truths about our lives. Our stories reveal how we are formed and what is important to us.

We are people of story.  What we tell and how we tell it out of the vast novel of our days reveals much about how we understand ourselves and what we value.

You may be familiar with the story of Paul from the book of Acts. A learned Pharisee and persecutor of early Christians, he was struck blind on the road to Damascus. In that moment he hears God call his name and ask what’s up with this persecution of Christians? Paul, as a result becomes a changed man. The path of Christianity is forever changed because of Paul’s witness.

When it was Paul’s turn to tell his story, he tells it three times.  In the book of Acts the story of Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ is told three different times.  It isn’t a product of poor editing, but rather a beacon shining on the sentinel story of one man’s life.  Each telling is slightly different, but the story always contrasts light and darkness, seeing and blindness, and a voice that can be heard only when the familiar way of knowing life is compromised.

It’s when he is blind that he hears.  It is not coincidental to the story.  It bears witness to what happens when the familiar is stripped away. In the absence of the familiar we reach for different things, hear different truths, embrace parts of the story that are often silenced by the daily-ness of life. 

When Paul cannot see, he is more able to hear.  And, as you may remember, he was also knocked flat on his butt. That is not coincidental to the story either; it reveals another way that Paul’s sense of mastery and control over his life was suspended for the sake of a new insight. His usual defenses and perceptions were temporarily disabled for the sake of a new and life changing message.

I doubt that many of us will be flattened on the road and rendered blind. Yet the twists and turns of our days can occasion a moment of divine insight that might pass us by if we are strictly working on our own steam.

Most of us construct a narrative of our lives that is comfortable.  We have a ready answer to questions like, where are you from, what do you do, what are your hobbies, where did you go to school, do you have children, what about grandchildren, where do you live…and the like.  Such narratives tell a part of life that is manageable.

We seldom speak of what really forms us; the  greatest moments of despair, the joy that renders us speechless, the insights that are hard won out of struggle or the knowledge that is the fruit of study that never sees a classroom.  It is the story within the story, the narrative that lingers under the surface of the story we claim.

When it’s Paul’s turn, he doesn’t give his pedigree: a Pharisee, a learned man, from the right side of the tracks, and a zealous keeper of the law and the tradition.  He tells about the time his life changed, when he had an insight so powerful that he could only speak of it in veiled language. There were no words. He can only point to it by constructing a powerful story about not being able to walk and not being able to see. And it isn’t once or twice, but three times. 

For all my struggles with Paul, and there are many, this narrative sits down beside my feminist edge and beckons to a different place.  He sets a model for telling the story that is THE shaping story of his life; the narrative that lies under the surface yet defines the entire landscape.

And all of the revealing, all of the vulnerability is for the sake of what is possible.  It is never for himself only that he tells his story, but for the sake of the growing community that he is now trying to nurture.  Almost as if to say, if God can do this with me imagine what God can do with you. 

Think about it.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the most comprehensive study about happiness ever conducted. Begun in 1938 and following successive generations, this study has followed family units for eight generations.

The study correlated factors related to well-being and happiness. The study found that the most important factors are taking care of health and building loving relationships. According to an article in Medscape, good health is essential to live well. Researchers also determined that meaningful relationships were the most significant predictor of health and happiness during aging.

I beg to differ with the Harvard Study, on the issue of happiness. I am a big fan of happiness, but it is pretty fickle. Happiness comes and goes based on external factors, sometimes beyond the control of the individual.  Health is not a de-facto determination of happiness. From my own experience with sudden and radical changes in health, I can honestly say some of the richest times of my life have unfolded in the ensuing years as I learn to live with chronic illness. That’s not to say it hasn’t sucked a good part of the time, but that’s not the whole story.

Having meaningful relationships is an indicator of life satisfaction. On this point I agree with the Harvard Study. I think we are lucky if we have two or three close companions in our lives. I am blessed to have to take off my shoes to count the people I count on. I am inclined to take off my shoes anyway, because whenever we are together we walk on sacred and storied ground.

There have been a few surprises along the way. Sometimes people I expected to be companions with me through the changes in my life were suddenly in the wind. On the other hand, those I never dreamed would be of support through the ups and downs of my health have been my closest companions. Not everyone can show up for sick duty.

Going a step beyond the Harvard study and its focus on health and good relationships, there is joy. It is made of much stronger stuff than happiness and is not dependent on emotions or the outer circumstances of life. Joy is a state of deep contentment that can exist even in the face of profound sadness, illness and death.

I learned again and again from my hospice patients and their families that joy resides in the deepest place of love. And even when life was ebbing to a close, there could be moments of deep joy and contentment. A life spent together, the sacredness of the dying process, the promise of suffering coming to an end and comfort until that moment unfolds. It is not a rowdy kind of joy but a quiet inner sense that all shall be well, even when it seems everything is falling apart.

Joy is not something we can will. We cannot grit our teeth when life sucks and say, “Well, I’m going to find joy now.” Joy is something that taps us on the shoulder and enfolds us in its soft embrace. It doesn’t come crashing in like a brass band. Rather it comes in on a whisper, a gentle breeze that reminds us that life is still happening around us. Joy can surprise us when a cardinal lights on a branch outside the window and sits there in all its brilliant red glory. Joy wears a million faces. Moments of joy gently invite us but never push their way into our life. It is always there, always ready for us, even when we aren’t ready for it.

Joy may not move in and set up shop for long periods of time. Rather comes in moments that are ours for the receiving when we are ready and tuned in.

Joy is not a short cut through pain. It is not a detour around pain.  As my therapist used to tell me; “The only way out is through.” We have to find our own way, in our own time, in our own process. Along the way we can discover moments of joy. Authentic joy can exist side by side with pain, illness, sickness, death, sadness and the panoply of human emotion and experience.

As Psalm 30 verse 5 reminds us, “Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes with the morning.”

An Open Letter to Associate Justices

Sotomayor, Jackson Brown and Kagan

Thank you for keeping the mandate of your office in the face of seemingly impossible odds. You may represent the minority on the Court, but you speak for most Americans. I, for one, cheer you on every time you write a brilliantly dissenting opinion.

As the highest Court in the land continues to squander its integrity, credibility and humanity, you are the voices that keep these crucial qualities alive. Thank you. A thousand times, thank you. Facing daunting odds you continue to keep the common good at the fore and the demands of justice as your mandate.

You maintain clarity about your role in the larger government system and take seriously your part in keeping the rule of law. You mete out rulings that benefit the greatest number of people and protect vulnerable populations. Your rulings challenge us to think beyond our own short sighted self-interest and keep our eye focused on what is best for the people of our nation. It is a heavy task in these days of shrinking vision, prejudice, bigotry and hatred. Thank you for being the voice that counters these voices in the Court.

I have no doubt that yours is a heavy mantle in these days. Know that there are many who may never write to you, but strongly support your work, perspective and commitment to the integrity of the court.

I look forward to the day when balance is restored to the court and it regains the integrity you so boldly embody. Until that day, thank you for holding the line and living out the courage of your convictions as individuals. Thank you for being legal scholars who value the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the guiding documents for the rule of law in this land. We are counting on you to keep on keeping on, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

With Gratitude and Appreciation

Rev. Patricia L. Liberty

Theirreverentreverend.blog

This letter was sent to each of the above named Justices. Please feel free to copy and use this letter for your own correspondence as a word of encouragement. Please give authorship and include the blog address as listed above.

An Open Letter to Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justices

Gorsuch, Barrett, Kavanaugh, Alito and Thomas

It is a sad day for the United States. It is also a sad day for the Supreme Court. As the keepers of the highest court in the land you continue to betray your mandate, pander to hate groups and set back civil rights for LGBTQ+ Americans and all people of color.

You collectively form a power block in the court that you are using to undermine the principles of freedom and the right to self-determination. Your decisions are making it legal to deny healthcare based on “religious conviction,” increase institutional racism and deny fundamental rights of women to make decisions over their own bodies.

It is disgusting to me that several of you lied or dodged the question about Roe v. Wade and there are no consequences to you for your lies. Your mouths are filled with double speak and you fail to speak the truth and protect the rights of all people.

It is disgusting to me that your individual integrity is utterly absent in your duplicitous actions that make you beholden to the wealthy and powerful. It nauseates me to know we have elected a rapist to the highest Court in the land just because you shed a few tears and boo-hooed to the cameras. Most of us were not fooled by your Oscar worthy acting.

There is not enough space in this document to point out the individual moral failings of each of you, but there is enough evidence to underscore the voids in your individual moral consciences and see the way that plays out in your legal decisions. Again, it is disgusting and nauseating.   

Since you, Chief Justice Roberts assumed his position on the court there has been a distinct shift toward protecting businesses and corporations rather than listening to individuals who seek redress in the court. Siding with business and corporations to selectively deny rights of patrons, while protecting workers who fit your political agenda, is despicable.

Your alliance with Opus Dei clearly shows the fascist tendencies of the Court. You are becoming the handmaiden that hides behind the “rule of law” to push forward an agenda that is radically conservative and socially backward. You would do well to take to heart the words of Matthew Fox, “The Supreme Court itself has become a cesspool of religious ideology ignoring the pluralism of American culture in favor of a far right version of evangelical and Roman Catholic Christianity committed to anti-abortion fanaticism.” A cesspool is an accurate assessment of your presence on the Court.

You are squandering your credibility and have already squandered your integrity. You fail to remedy injustices of the past through your current decisions, such as affirmative action. You fail to understand the institutional, cultural and systematic racism that permeates our social order, and you add insult to injury by taking away one major thing that was trying to right a part of that wrong. You have thrown the baby out with the bath water. Affirmative Action was not perfect, but it held the possibility for repair and revision. Instead you eradicated any movement we have made toward equal access in higher education.

One thing you underestimate, however, is the moral commitment of the American people and the tenacity to do what is right. You may be accountable to no one and go off on tangents destroying our great country, but we will find ways to do what is right. The small group of hate filled, bigoted bullies you represent are no match for the vast majority of people in this country who are committed to the common good, justice and common sense. We will find ways to work around you, ignore you, and/or call you out for your deplorable actions as the highest Court in the land.

Do not underestimate the power of the American people. We will stand for what is just and right, and what benefits the common good, even if you continue to fail your high calling.

In Pursuit of Justice and the Common Good,

Rev. Patricia L. Liberty

Theirreverentreverend.blog

This letter was sent to each Justice named at the head of the document. You are free to copy and use this letter for your own correspondence with members of the high Court. Please give credit and include my blog address.

The late, great civil rights activist and preacher, the Rev. William Sloane Coffin wrote, “There are three kinds of patriots, two bad, one good. The bad are the uncritical lovers and the loveless critics. Good patriots carry on a lover’s quarrel with their country.”

Those who carry on lover’s quarrels with their country are rarely seen as patriots. Those who are uncritical lovers are held out as the example for everyone to follow.

Patriotism is a tricky thing, especially in these days of rising nationalism. “My country right or wrong” is the cry of nationalism and under it is the belief that no matter what, my country is right. As William Sloane Coffin notes, “That’s like saying my grandmother drunk or sober.” It helps no one.

Carrying on a lover’s quarrel with our country is the mark of critical thinking and deep passion. As a parent loves their children and is not afraid to call them out when they are wrong, so patriots love their country and are not afraid to call it out when it is wrong.  Of course, we risk being called communists, haters, disloyal, unfaithful, treacherous, disaffected and fickle.

For people of faith, the best patriotism is that which is informed by faith: concern for the poor, commitment to justice, love for all God’s creation and so much more. We live, however, in a time where the tables are turned and those who proclaim these things are marginalized as the unpatriotic.

It’s time we claim our patriotism again. Fly the flag and be clear about what you mean when you do it. When I fly the flag I proclaim my love for my country. It is a love that believes in the best America can be and isn’t afraid to be critical. It is a belief in the greatness of America that is being squandered by rich, greedy individuals and corporations who legally get to take far more than their share because they are protected by their cronies in government. It is a belief in the potential of the United States to be generous and a beacon of light and generosity to the world.  Instead America lives with its light under a bushel because it serves the rich and influential. Finally, my love for America is rooted in a conviction that religious pluralism, cultural diversity and an accurate understanding of our history are crucial if we are to realize part of the potential that lies within us.

It’s time we claim our patriotism. This means participating in government, not just by voting but by being a thorn in the side of our elected leaders. It means being courageous, outspoken critics of a corrupt Supreme Court. Write individual letters to them. Call them out for their corrupt and unjust rulings. And while you are at it thank Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan for their tireless work trying to do the right thing, even though it must seem like shoveling sand against the tide. 

It’s time we claim our patriotism. This means being well informed and caring deeply about things that do not directly affect us. The student loan decision of last week by SCOTUS may not affect anyone you know, but it is devastating to those who are struggling to meet their commitments and not live in poverty. This was a spiteful decision. The Paycheck Protection Program has so far forgiven $757 billion in loans to private businesses, nearly double what the Biden administrations student-loan forgiveness would have cost. There is an undercurrent of racism in this decision as those most likely to be impacted are black borrowers because they pay a disproportionate amount of student loan interest.

And this is just one issue. Affirmative action, the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other decisions make our current Supreme Court the most corrupt and politically motivated court in American history.

Patriotism requires us to think critically about who is impacted by the advantages/disadvantages of decisions that affect our social and political system. Further, it requires us to consider how the laws and decisions measure up against what our faith asks of us and willingness to SAY SOMETHING.  Patriotism asks something of us. Democracies don’t run themselves. They depend on the participation of average citizens. Nature abhors a vacuum and when we are silent, other less balanced voices come to the fore.

Here’s to being called disloyal, fickle, treacherous and unpatriotic. Happy 4^th of July.