Late yesterday when I was shown a photo on the internet, the darkness in my heart began to lift. I’m not sure of the details but what I remember of the story is that a school principal (or teacher) wrote a letter (or sent out some sort of request) for people to donate food for students (elementary level, I think) who normally receive lunch in school but now have no access to it since “school” is now virtual. The picture was of what looked like thousands of bags filled with food and the accompanying story told of the necessity of directing people who came later with food to the park near the school as there was not enough space in the school parking lot in which to place all the bags of food that were donated.
This morning as I opened my computer to write my blog post, the first thing that caught my eye was a letter from Corie Barry, CEO of Best Buy – one of the largest chain stores in our country for technology: computers and such. It was not only a letter about past commitment to education in providing equipment for students but also a statement of distress about the events of the past week’s racial violence and a promise to do all in their power to create “permanent, systemic change in as many ways” as they could find. It began with an apology “for not doing enough” (even though a decade ago they began building a national network of Teen Tech Centers, places where “teens from disinvested communities are exposed to and trained on a range of technology that can make a critical difference in helping them find success in post-secondary education or the job market.”) They are appointing a diverse group (by demography and level in the company) to challenge one another, and, ultimately, the senior leadership team and Board of Directors, with “substantive, enduring ways to address the inequities and injustices to which all of us witness each day.”
After reading two more positive messages from sites I generally check into, I watched three minutes of babies reacting to their fathers who were playing their guitars for them. Who of us can avoid a spike in our “happiness quotient” in such a situation? Then I listened once again to the song from yesterday’s post (In Every Age), thanks to Mary Pat, our resident tech wizard.
As a result of all this, and while still pained by the state of our nation, I am willing to enter into this day with a determination to “be the change I wish to see in the world.” Whatever it takes. Thanks be to God.
I smiled when I just looked at the title for my last blog entry (“What Time Is It?”), in part because I am in a different time zone than usual. Although Minnesota is only one hour behind the Northeast, and because all my electronic devices correct themselves without help from me, I might not notice the inner disturbance that occurs when visiting a location like California (3 hours difference) or a European country (6 or 7 hours difference). There is a subtle adjustment to be made, however. I have been up and thinking for over an hour and here it’s only 6:10am.
There’s an urgency running through the Scripture readings this morning that calls us to recognize this moment. It’s as if we are crouched at the starting line of a race, having registered late, maybe, but waiting for the gun to signal: “GO!” The prophet Joel starts it off with his initial words: Even now, declares the Lord. St. Paul picks up the theme telling us that now is the acceptable time and Psalm 95:8 (the gospel acclamation) chimes in with the familiar line: If today you hear God’s voice…These are the prompts that get us from “READY” to “SET” but what will start us running?
My first waking thought this morning was a line from a Navajo prayer that became a chant and then a walking circle meditation long ago. It expresses how I wish to leave Stonington, Maine and move through days to come that may not be easy. I intend to remember it every day as my determination to be positive and helpful, respectful and willing for whatever is called for in my living.
In Luke’s gospel account of Jesus with a blind man, it seems the lesson is that the man had to be clear about what it was he wanted in order for Jesus to heal him of his infirmity. We are at the beginning of a new season in the political life of our nation and need to be much clearer than we have been about what is possible and how we might effect the best possible outcome in the circumstances that exist now. I find it interesting that the first lectionary reading for today is the very beginning of the Book of Revelation and the response to that is the first in the Book of Psalms. So we begin anew to deepen our intention, not only for endurance but for the love that has been assaulted in the events of the past year.
