DEFEND US AGAINST ENEMIES OF THE GOSPEL

 

 Recently the prayer of the day in our church included the words, "Pour out your Holy Spirit on your faithful people. . . protect and comfort them in times of trial, defend them against all enemies of the gospel, and bestow on the church your saving peace . . . ."  The phrase "defend them against all enemies of the gospel" particularly caught my attention.  

In our congregation we have mentioned whether the Church should be political.  Some fear that politics sows division.  Others suggest we not criticize each other for our political beliefs--and we don't.  That may be because we are fairly homogeneous, but perhaps not.  Perhaps we simply love our neighbors as ourselves and do unto others as we would have them do unto us.  It is the core of our faith.

But if refraining from politics means that we stay silent and passive in the face of oppression, then no.  Both Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic church, the Lutheran church bishops and others do not shy from speaking out.  No Christian should.  No American should.  No human being should. 

Many recognize that this administration and its supporters in Congress act as "enemies of the gospel."  How so is that true?  After all, do not all of us sin, repent and ask for forgiveness?  Of course we do. 

But we do not steal from the poor to give (tax cuts) to the rich.  We do not terrorize immigrants of color, cut food benefits to children or fire government employees; we do not deny science, make American businesses pay tariffs to the government, or build grand ballrooms where the beautiful East Wing of the White House once was--where Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalynn Carter, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama once had their offices.  Where Jackie Kennedy planned the Rose Garden (now also demolished).   

Here in America, our white (like me) president has fired the black Chair of the Joint Chiefs, the first Black person to serve as Librarian of Congress, the first Black woman to serve on the National Labor Relations Board,  the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve, the first Black chair of the Federal Energy Commission, the only Black member of the National Transportation Board, the first Black woman on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors and so on.  None with cause.   

As Christians, as humans, what do we do with this information?  Ignore it?  Pray it will disappear?  Keep silent?  Our service the same week ended with "Send us to do good and to share our possessions with all in need."   Our Prayers of Intercession included, "Move us to understanding and reconciliation between people of other faiths...." 

This is a lot.  But we can't eat the bread and wine that are Christ's body and blood if we let others go hungry.  Hunger is a weapon, whether used against Palestinians in Gaza or poor people here.  ICE raids, troops on our streets, racial terror are evils to overcome. That's why 7,000 of us, many from our congregation, were at the NO KINGS day in our town on October 18.  That's why the speaker was the Rev William Barber--look him up if you need to--, a Dr. King successor. 

Most of us aren't politicians and have no pulpit or bullhorn. All we Christians have is the Holy Spirit feeding us and the words of our faith guiding us.  But we, along with those of other faiths and no faith, have the duty to bear public witness, hold leaders accountable, speak out and resist systems that oppress.  

Some things--the most important--are moral, personal, religious and political.  Think justice, mercy, fair-dealing, respect, goodness, the virtues that stand opposed to sin, including the seven deadliest ones.   We can't ignore politics and keep sin at bay.  We can't fear to mention the names of our two American political parties in a Christian setting and speak truth to power.  Of how we treat the poor, Pope Leo XIV said recently, "Either we regain our moral and spiritual dignity or we fall into a cesspool."

My thoughts of the present are animated by God.  We woke to ICE in Charlotte this morning and to protests against them.  As of this writing 81 Charlotte residents have been arrested for the color of their skin and their first language. God is in the midst of them.  He is in our midst.  No where else do we find hope but in His promise to defend us against all enemies of the Gospel.  The calls to prayer are legion, but so are the calls to peaceful action.  Not my words, but to give up is unforgivable.        In peace, Nina Naomi

 

VERY ORDINARY FALL DAY

November Early Darkness

The best thing about today might be now, sitting outdoors by the fire pit waiting for the early darkness that comes in mid-November.  The citronella candles are lit, since soon it will be too dark to type out here.  the air is mild, I am in long sleeves only by this fire.  We have so much old wood lying about, any strong wind brings down branches to scavenge. I love this place, this patio, this old house, the fire pit that was shiny copper at the beginning of the pandemic, now tarnished by smoke and ash.  

Or maybe the best thing was this morning when I got to sleep a bit and then drink tea.  Lazy Saturdays are always special, left from years of working long hours with stress and travel delays, trying to finish up and get home.  Especially as the weather changes, isn't a slow start nice?  

Or perhaps the best might be this evening when some grandchildren (no longer children), family and friends come for my husband's small birthday supper.  If the fire is still burning they may join me outside for a few minutes.  I made sloppy Joes, my husband's favorite.  And a bought cake.  Maybe that will be best.

Still, isn't the best part of the day when we slide into bed?  Are we ever not happy about that?  Even when as new parents we didn't know how much rest we would get, it was still a desperately needed lie-down.  Sound sleep is a luxury.  After a meal and clean-up, I always think how nice a warm bath and cozy bed will feel.  Body lotion, clean old tee-shirts and raggy sleep pants, Pillows just right.  Just writing this makes me look forward to the end of the day.  

What is best for you?  Every morning I look forward to getting up and every night I look forward to going to bed.  I wonder if this is true for everyone.  Maybe we're just made this way.  Absent disasters and crises and all those times in our life that are too hard, maybe our default is to mostly love all the parts of our day.  Even work, over now in retirement, I could never have done without.  I remember not working and looking. for the right next step being more worrying than working.  

This is seeming like a very good, very ordinary Fall day, like one that most of us are having in our own individual way I suspect.  A weekend, some family, relaxation.  I hope you look at your day and find good things.  My wish whenever I write, is that what I am thinking connects in a small way to those reading, those who choose to read a simple diary of a mindful nature lover to the end of a post.   

The fire is dimming now and needs some stoking. 

Blessings to all, Nina Naomi  

 

LORD, TEACH US TO COPE

  

Someone I read the other day wrote about distancing as a fair way of coping.  Resistance, activism, helping others--but then in our arsenal as well, distancing.

What am I talking about? That no one in America is immune from the current destruction of our society.  SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) runs out now.  It may be reinstated by the courts, but over this regime's opposition, and even though the money is there to fund it.  Hungry people, the old, the young, the disabled used as leverage.   The kind of cruelty you see in war, an evil never justified.

Distancing is a respite from anger, frustration and despair.  It's a regrouping so that we don't give up.  It's a temporary move to reboot and refresh. It's not apathy.  It's self-care.  And it's OK.  

We can call it a refresh.  I've been doing that for a few posts. But whatever we call it, it's healthy.  It's healthy even if we are the hungry one.  It's healthy to go outside, take the kids for a walk, look at the leaves, gather acorns and pine cones, think about something else.  I did that today.  

I admit, I am not hungry.  I am privileged in my old age to be self-sufficient.  Why I have been given this blessing I do not know. But none of us takes it for granted.  None of us can take credit; we all work hard, we all do our best, maybe especially those who worry about each meal.  

Everyday we should try to do something other than worry.  Donating makes us feel good; if we have enough, it's the least we can do. Volunteering if we have time and strength.  This afternoon going outdoors into our woods brought home what we want to preserve. 

We are having friends over tonight.  They have been through some hard times.  Cancer strikes young as well as old.  That is their family tragedy right now.  We know how that feels.  Our young son died of cancer twenty years ago this year. No one forgets.  So I made a tablescape of acorns, nuts and luminous fall leaves.  I added some blossoms from the mums in the yard.  And a candle.  Honestly, so simple but gratifying.  Friends, maybe some music, a prayer before the meal, a supper of fish and rice and greens.  We won't talk politics.  We'll take a respite.  We'll show love to each other.  

My prayer is that I will do more for others; that goodness will prevail; that God will help us defeat evil, the evil that is trying to destroy our democracy and even the White House itself. The rest of the prayer we might leave to God.  Fashion the prayer we need, please Lord.  Teach us to pray as you did with the "Our Father."  Help us never loose our humanity.  Echoing a past Sunday's Prayer of the Day, "Pour out your Holy Spirit on your faithful people. . . protect and comfort them in times of trial [and] defend them against all enemies of the gospel."   AMEN