Sunday Musings, July 1, 2018
Pray for mercy
This morning I was listening again to the June 18, 2018 podcast of On Being which is a conversation between the host Krista Tippett, Rami Nashashibi and Lucas Johnson entitled “Getting Proximate to Pain, and Holding to the Power of Love”.
Mr. Nashashibi said something which had stayed in my heart and mind as we begin this new month of distress and unrest in much of the world including the United States. He said that in his religion “we’re taught you never pray for justice, because as much as want justice, you pray for mercy. In other words, you never pray for God to be just with you, because you recognize that we all got issues. All of our communities have issues, and, when you start disentangling the layers of oppression that we begin to find that we are oppressors of one another. We are oppressors of ourselves.”
Grace is unconditional love. Grace is the recognition that although we have been hurtful to ourselves and others – that we can we very loving and we can be very hurtful – we are worthy of unconditional love. Mercy says that we are the oppressors of ourselves and others and, thus, we pray for (whatever our higher power) mercy to be equally distributed.
I have lived with myself, worked with those in prison, the homeless, the esteem leaders of the community and all of us have been hurt and hurtful. As Jim Cone who recently ended this life journey, said, we learn to be our own oppressors. Oppressed people oppressed themselves and others. If one wants to stop the cycle we have to first forgive and love ourselves and then see ourselves and our oppression in others.
As we in the United States begin the month of July and quickly move towards July 4th, the day set aside to celebration Independence Day, we need to recognize that this country as the United States was born of wounded people who wounded others who wounded others. If we pray for mercy we pray for mercy for all of us in our family, our community, and our world. We pray for mercy for those who are gathering to stand for those fleeing physical and economic violence and who are attempting to find a safe place for themselves and their children; for those who are thinking that money, power or something else outside of oneself will bring more than a moment of happiness; for those who are so wounded that they use their power to hurt others; for all of us who have been wounded and have learned to wound ourselves and others we join Mr. Nashashibi and all his brothers and sisters; we join the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, the non-believers and all others to pray for Mercy. As we accept the gift of mercy we can move on to problem solving without hate or judgement.
I am not suggesting that there are easy answers but I am suggesting that we begin with mercy which is possible because of grace.
Written July 1, 2018
Pray for mercy
This morning I was listening again to the June 18, 2018 podcast of On Being which is a conversation between the host Krista Tippett, Rami Nashashibi and Lucas Johnson entitled “Getting Proximate to Pain, and Holding to the Power of Love”.
Mr. Nashashibi said something which had stayed in my heart and mind as we begin this new month of distress and unrest in much of the world including the United States. He said that in his religion “we’re taught you never pray for justice, because as much as want justice, you pray for mercy. In other words, you never pray for God to be just with you, because you recognize that we all got issues. All of our communities have issues, and, when you start disentangling the layers of oppression that we begin to find that we are oppressors of one another. We are oppressors of ourselves.”
Grace is unconditional love. Grace is the recognition that although we have been hurtful to ourselves and others – that we can we very loving and we can be very hurtful – we are worthy of unconditional love. Mercy says that we are the oppressors of ourselves and others and, thus, we pray for (whatever our higher power) mercy to be equally distributed.
I have lived with myself, worked with those in prison, the homeless, the esteem leaders of the community and all of us have been hurt and hurtful. As Jim Cone who recently ended this life journey, said, we learn to be our own oppressors. Oppressed people oppressed themselves and others. If one wants to stop the cycle we have to first forgive and love ourselves and then see ourselves and our oppression in others.
As we in the United States begin the month of July and quickly move towards July 4th, the day set aside to celebration Independence Day, we need to recognize that this country as the United States was born of wounded people who wounded others who wounded others. If we pray for mercy we pray for mercy for all of us in our family, our community, and our world. We pray for mercy for those who are gathering to stand for those fleeing physical and economic violence and who are attempting to find a safe place for themselves and their children; for those who are thinking that money, power or something else outside of oneself will bring more than a moment of happiness; for those who are so wounded that they use their power to hurt others; for all of us who have been wounded and have learned to wound ourselves and others we join Mr. Nashashibi and all his brothers and sisters; we join the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, the non-believers and all others to pray for Mercy. As we accept the gift of mercy we can move on to problem solving without hate or judgement.
I am not suggesting that there are easy answers but I am suggesting that we begin with mercy which is possible because of grace.
Written July 1, 2018
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