Teach me to be Love
January 20, 2025
Dear One,
How are you today? How is your heart and all it holds in these times?
Primarily today I am celebrating the incredible life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-- his light, his legacy, his profound impact not just on this country, but on what is possible for humanity. His blend of faith and justice is particularly attractive to me, a minister who is compelled into acts of justice from the wellspring of faith; and who returns again and again to the well of spirit when faced with the reality of the profound injustices still rampant in our world today.
Which of course leads to the second major event of the day– the inauguration of a twice-impeached convicted felon, rapist, destroyer of democracy and white supremacist. It is also important for me to see and be present to this moment with deep soul sobriety, no matter how much I wish it wasn’t happening. Today is a stark paradox, the lifting up of two men with vastly different visions of the world and of what it means to be human.
I am compelled, by the reality of my baptism, to not only stand in sobriety in the horrifying both/and of today, but become more alive because of it.
It helps that I orient myself in a faith lineage where this is a familiar story, a well-trodden path. In my understanding of salvation history, (this ages-long quest of remembering the whole-ness and holiness of all of creation) again and again humanity has been tasked with remembering who we are in the midst of all we are not; to choose love where it could be so easy to choose hate and fear; to see clearly and choose rightly where we could throw up our hands in despair and forget the vision of the true kin-dom of heaven ON earth.
When a reality as stark as this is upon us, the danger posed this immediate, things can become crystal clear. The light within each of us can shine even brighter. Every action we take and choice we make has an impact. We stop waiting for someone to save us and we become who we’ve been waiting for. We become the change we wish to see. We rise. Resurrection becomes not just an idea or theological concept, but an embodied, incarnate reality.
This is my prayer for each of us in this moment. That in despair, we choose hope. In sorrow, we share love. In darkness, we become blazing, uncompromising light. In fear, may we consider someone who might also be afraid, and reach out, and remind them they are not alone. May we draw closer in solidarity and fierce love. May we do this each in our own sphere, in our own way, and trust that it has an impact. United with millions all over the world are doing the same, it makes a difference. It indeed changes the world.
If it helps, I invite you to pray these simple prayers with me today. They come from the Psalms, a tremendous body of prayer in the Hebrew tradition that speaks to the multi-faceted tapestry of this human journey– the sorrow, fear, lament, despair, joy, hope, beauty and love of it all. May we each remember who we are, and who we are together, in the Holy.
I love you!
Erin
Teach me to be Love,
as you are Love.
Lead me through each fear.
Hold my hand as I walk through valleys of doubt each day,
that I may know your Peace.
-from Psalm 27
Abandon yourself to the beloved.
Draw closer and closer to Love.
For when y0u dwell in peace within Love’s heart,
And you know the Divine Spirit in your own heart,
you become as nothing, yet all things are yours.
As you radiate the healing love of your inmost being
into a suffering, scarred, yet ever-sacred world,
Offer grateful praise from the chalice of your heart,
to the One who loves through you.
-from Psalm 119, translations by Nan Merrill
