I fear that those who will see their candidate become president on January 20th have voted against their divine calling as humans created in the image of a hospitable God. Those of us who claim that the bible has some degree of authority over how we live must now resist any attempt to enact or embody this man’s inhospitable vision for our shared life as a nation.
We need to ask ourselves seriously how we are going to resist. How are we going to disempower the centers of money and power in tangible ways? How are we going to support each other through this? Solidarity comes at a high price in times like these. None of us can go this alone and expect success. History, however, has shown us that when we go it together, we can beat back tyranny.
Reports warn that at least 25-30 million people will lose healthcare coverage when Obamacare is repealed. This issue isn’t going anywhere until we fix it. Challenging political and media narratives is a first step to resetting the agenda. We must be more vocal about the substantive differences. Polarity here is only found in one group’s desire to strip the humanity and dignity of the other’s.
And so it is for these reasons that we may not have come so far as we think as a society, and the tight-fisted grasp among whites to the notion of colorblindness must come to an end. It is not, as some originally argued, a means toward an ideal of equality. That is what is wrong with being colorblind.
Honestly, there are so many things to remind myself of, to be inspired by, to be motivated to never give up. Yeah, the Electoral College just put into the presidency the most uninformed, racist, misogynist, serial lying, narcissist we have ever seen. But then I remember the power of us working together, me and you and so many others who share our passions and priorities. And the resolve rises up within me.
For me, in spite of being in prison for 19 Christmases since then, I’ve found a reason to be thankful. When the will to be kind is present, even prison bars can’t stop it from being expressed. And at the end of the day, as we remember the reason for the season, let’s do true honor to Jesus Christ, by taking a little time to be kind to one and all.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, in the midst of so many visits to family and friends (which can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing!), and in the midst of the busyness that so many church leaders are burdened with, we at Fig Tree Revolution want to share these wishes and blessings for you this Christmas.
Pope Francis reminds of the importance of our actions. "You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That's how prayer works." I know many of the issues including poverty and hunger require more than charity. So, I offer this you, "Pray for people impacted by oppression and injustice and then you resist the evils that create it. That's how pray works.”
No trumpets sounded. No angels appeared. No burning bush or flashing lights. Just a man and his pregnant wife and the innkeeper says nope, no room. That’s his right too. He is justified in saying no. No one can fault him, but man, do I pity him. Look at what he missed out on. He missed out on being a part of history. He is forever not remembered as the innkeeper who said no. No room.
Swastikas, white supremacy, “Heil Trump” spray painted on the wall, racist propaganda, and a white nationalist convention…what is going on? Though this is not 1920 anymore, we can learn something from history. I’ve been reading about the rise of the KKK in Indiana in 1920 and I see some parallels in our society today. [1]
Can we convene in the same way on the heels of a soul-sucking campaign and election cycle? Could we bring about a convergence of the creatively maladjusted - an interfaith, no faith, deeply compassionate - movement willing to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world, declaring eternal opposition to poverty, racism and militarism
