In the name of God, for those who worship a monotheistic God, for those who worship many Gods, for those who pray to no God, for the many people who have just as many expressions of spirituality, holiness, or even simply good-heartedness, we pray. For those who damage others, for those who are blind to the common good, for those who seek to serve only themselves, we pray.
In March, it was a great honor to welcome Moina Shaq to share her experience of being Muslim, her knowledge of Islam, and her lived faith as a woman, mother, wife, and community leader. Her generosity and genuine desire for communication profoundly struck me. It was only a slight coincidence that Moina’s visit followed my own sharing of my experience of the Israel and Palestinian conflict. While in Jerusalem and the Galilee, as pilgrims, we listened to the many stories of what it is like to live, shoulder to shoulder, with those who believe differently and with those who are in a position to oppress. I found Moina’s dismay towards discrimination to be parallel with the dismay heard in Israel. In the United States, discrimination is nothing new. However, it seems as if it has reached a new height with the elevation of rhetoric in the public square. The loudest voice gets the most attention, and when that voice makes a practice of disparaging entire bodies of people, that poison filters down and infects the well.
Someone recently asked me what people of faith, and in our case, what Christians who believe in an all-loving, all-inclusive God, could do. It’s a complicated question with no easy answers. I believe, however, that our power lies in our actions. Our baptismal covenant gives us the road map. The signposts of our faith are found in the promises we make. The road that we pave is found in the lives that we live stemming from these promises. It is not enough to simply believe the promises of our baptism. We must also live the promises of our baptism.
What are those promises? We promise to share Holy Communion with one another, to pray and to be in relationship as a way of letting the holy sink in and expand out. We promise to persevere in resisting evil, repenting and returning to the Lord, which includes standing on principle and having the courage to speak out. We promise to proclaim the Good News, making sure that every person we encounter knows that they are beloved by God. We promise to serve Christ in others and to love our neighbors, even if and especially when they are different. We promise to strive for justice and peace, naming a wrong and rejecting verbal, physical, systematic, emotional, sexual, or any violence. And finally, we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. Every. Human. Being.
I offer you a poem from one of my favorite poets, David Whyte, which speaks of courage, conviction, and love.
SELF PORTRAIT
It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
I have been told, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.
~ David Whyte, from Fire In the Earth
In the steps of our Savior, may we each have the courage to live, day by day, with the consequence of love.
~Lori+