Let’s not mistake peacebuilding for weakness.
Understand it as the way we keep from undermining the values for which we stand, for which we fight.
Let’s not mistake honoring human dignity as something we do if we have leftover energy for after spending our rage online, rather than something essential.
When we say that it’s time to stop conversation because it’s time to fight,
When we imply that it’s time for weapons (including verbal ones) and no longer time for care, we join the side we loathe. We choose self-destruction when we choose destruction at all.
So what DO we ask God for when we don’t agree on what truth is?
What kind of help do we ask from God when there is so much suffering and injustice around us?
What kind of companionship does God offer us when we want to build peace, but there is so much violence in our midst?
How does God help us honor the dignity of all while standing up for what we believe is right?
When we can see the disdain and repugnance, one to another, and feel a forever distance between ourselves and a pursuit of cohesive, collective well-being,
When we turn on the news to get an update from recent widespread destruction, only to find that a new version of widespread destruction has already erupted,
What do we ask of God?
What do we say to God?
When the battle builds, and the movement shifts to a sprint, when the noise stays overwhelming as a baseline,
Don’t forget to be still. Dont’ forget to listen. Don’t give into a gravitational pull of outrage that chews you up and spits you out. Righteous anger is real and has a good channel; it also has a way to be sustained, and that has much to do with how grounded we get, how strong our foundation stays.
Courage is not built from frenzy. It’s built from a knowing.
Wisdom is not built from soundbites, but rather being able to cut through the noise into what is True.
God is already here.
God has already invited us.
But we make gods all the time.
Or we render ourselves into gods, presuming to be all-knowing and judgmental to perfection.
May we, each day we wake, rise to meet the living God who isn’t noisy, but of which everything good is made.
We don’t have to chase God, but to attune.
We don’t have to be more than we are, or even feel better than we feel.
We must remember who we are and Whose we are
Where our job ends and God’s begins.
God-with-us, You never forsake us.
Help us not be afraid of what You may surface in us
In quiet moments and still spaces
Attune us to Your Spirit
Grant us courage to counterculturally engage a finite world with something infinite,
To bravely stand for a cause while always behaving like the neighbors we wish to have,
Not out of our own reservoir, or our own pressurized metrics, but rather in service to something far sturdier than fueling our own daily efforts:
Your Truth, Your Wisdom that endures and serves as our anchor.
Give us eyes to see Your pathway, and the faith to walk on it, knowing You are alongside us every step of the way.
Amen.
Keep a checklist of how God does NOT guide, such as out of:
Fear of one another
Anxiety
Frenzy and Panic
Unsustainable outrage
Soundbites
Social media algorithms
Lack of nuance
Lack of compassion or understanding for that which is inherently difficult to understand
Lack of empathy
Lack of humility
Giving yourself God’s job (Messiah complex, trying to be the one that fixes a problem that belongs to others or to a whole system on your own)
Prooftexting Scripture
Pointing the finger at others as primary motive: being against something rather than for something
Inciting and perpetuating division among communities
Compromising safety of others
Hold close to your heart some ways God does guide us, such as out of:
The fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
A quiet, anchored Peace
A sense of clarity of what aligns with one’s values, and a steadfast commitment to behave within that alignment
Care and concern for the well-being of the whole, even those unlike oneself
Vulnerable trust in doing the next right thing
Empathy and compassion
Peace which surpasses understanding
Courage to stand up for what is right while behaving with humane care for those who may express disagreement or dissent
Connection in a community of many perspectives who -to the best of their ability- pursue advocacy for what is right, true and good collectively
A contextualized, earnest reading of Scripture that is upheld in a faith community of diverse perspectives seeking to pursue faithful behavior
A countercultural expression of faithfulness to the characteristics of Christ over and above finite allegiances that seek to hoard power or incite division
Violence or harm of any kind to others, including in retaliation
Behavior quick to involve grace, forgiveness and understand humans as “under construction” at all times
A humble willingness to sacrifice for the good of others, both for the sake of today and for future generations
What are the signs, the filters that help you know if you are facing toward Wisdom?
-Pastor Carrie