Sunday Musings – March 5, 2017
The sun reminds me that there is light; that all is not dark and dreary. In fact, despite the fact of the “blessings” of instant and continuous news of all the discord and violence in the world, I hear that the world, as a whole, is becoming increasingly less violent. Every source I check, including slate.com, confirms that all types of violence worldwide continues to decrease. Looking at the graphs of the various types of violence clearly shows a trend of decreasing violence. Of course, for the person who is experiencing violence either as an individual, a country or a region the trend is not very comforting. For that person who is a victim of sexual trafficking, rape, murder, or a war related killing/mutilation their pain does not decrease because of trends over time. Pain is pain. No family which is torn asunder by the destructive winds of addiction is comforted by trends. Every family which experiences the loss of home and country counts. Every child who dies because of hunger counts.
In the Christian tradition, this week saw the beginning of the season of Lent which will culminate in the celebration of the resurrection – the new birth - Easter. For some believers, the humans Christ who was also the son of God physically rose from the dead and ascended into a place called heaven. For others, the resurrection occurred every time that Jesus held fast to unconditional love as he healed, fed, and loved those that others often found it difficult to love. He was as clear as the character Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright’s story Native Son that no one could do anything to him “except kill him and that was nothin.”
I am reminded that I must not walk around the person lying in the street. I must not ignore bullying, the mistreatment of women, or the other ways that us humans continue to hurt each other. I must constantly challenge myself to be part of the solution and not, through my silence, part of the problem. At the same time, it is not unkind, insensitive, or thoughtless to celebrate the Easter which arrives many times every day. Already today I have had loving reminders of many friendships – people who act as if they are blind to all my human frailties and misdeeds – of the fact that I am well enough to exercise and can do that without worrying about how I will safely get to and from the gym. This week I continued to make small improvements to my home, enjoy the amazing music of the Pittsburgh Symphony, work, spend time as a volunteer as an addiction treatment center, and lunch with dear friends I had not seen since my return to this geographical area.
On Monday Randy arrived to help me do some repairs and improvements on this home. The people at Lowe’s welcomed me no less than eight or was it nine times.
On Tuesday at the treatment center Dawn challenged us to be intentional about gratitude.
In so many ways I was and am reminded that I am responsible for hourly claiming the resurrection - the possibility of showing up or is that “popping up” with love while not walking around the person lying in the street.
Written March 5, 2017
The sun reminds me that there is light; that all is not dark and dreary. In fact, despite the fact of the “blessings” of instant and continuous news of all the discord and violence in the world, I hear that the world, as a whole, is becoming increasingly less violent. Every source I check, including slate.com, confirms that all types of violence worldwide continues to decrease. Looking at the graphs of the various types of violence clearly shows a trend of decreasing violence. Of course, for the person who is experiencing violence either as an individual, a country or a region the trend is not very comforting. For that person who is a victim of sexual trafficking, rape, murder, or a war related killing/mutilation their pain does not decrease because of trends over time. Pain is pain. No family which is torn asunder by the destructive winds of addiction is comforted by trends. Every family which experiences the loss of home and country counts. Every child who dies because of hunger counts.
In the Christian tradition, this week saw the beginning of the season of Lent which will culminate in the celebration of the resurrection – the new birth - Easter. For some believers, the humans Christ who was also the son of God physically rose from the dead and ascended into a place called heaven. For others, the resurrection occurred every time that Jesus held fast to unconditional love as he healed, fed, and loved those that others often found it difficult to love. He was as clear as the character Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright’s story Native Son that no one could do anything to him “except kill him and that was nothin.”
I am reminded that I must not walk around the person lying in the street. I must not ignore bullying, the mistreatment of women, or the other ways that us humans continue to hurt each other. I must constantly challenge myself to be part of the solution and not, through my silence, part of the problem. At the same time, it is not unkind, insensitive, or thoughtless to celebrate the Easter which arrives many times every day. Already today I have had loving reminders of many friendships – people who act as if they are blind to all my human frailties and misdeeds – of the fact that I am well enough to exercise and can do that without worrying about how I will safely get to and from the gym. This week I continued to make small improvements to my home, enjoy the amazing music of the Pittsburgh Symphony, work, spend time as a volunteer as an addiction treatment center, and lunch with dear friends I had not seen since my return to this geographical area.
On Monday Randy arrived to help me do some repairs and improvements on this home. The people at Lowe’s welcomed me no less than eight or was it nine times.
On Tuesday at the treatment center Dawn challenged us to be intentional about gratitude.
In so many ways I was and am reminded that I am responsible for hourly claiming the resurrection - the possibility of showing up or is that “popping up” with love while not walking around the person lying in the street.
Written March 5, 2017
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