The Sound of Sunshine

+ Need a prayerful start to your day? Join me from 8-8:15 this morning on Zoom - here is the link:The Rev. Dr. Steve Ohnsman, PhD. Pastor, Calvary UCC Rdg PA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Calvary Mid-Week Prayer / Time: 8am?/ Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87304620849?pwd=aHdQak1Ga3VoSU05NU9aVXVpeG1Wdz09?

Meeting ID: 873 0462 0849 / Passcode: 491292

Today's Thought - The Sound of Sunshine

I have always been a huge fan of Michael Franti & Spearhead. They are a feel-good band out of the San Francisco Bay area that blends hip-hop, reggae, funk, folk; an eclectic group that tries to spread positivity wherever they go. I finally got to see them, and I must tell you, it is quite a workout (if you decide to have fun and move with the groove). The recurring themes of love, peace, people are good, life is great (and bad) all coalesce in the gospel according to Franti. He includes all kinds of people in the fun and ended his show with the stage full of kids of all ages, singing and dancing and being part of the party. There's no exclusion - just good times. In the face of all that is happening in the world, we need more Spearhead and less spears.

One of their new songs is "Life is Amazing, then it sucks, then it's Amazing Again." The message is that life is filled with joy and pain, and it is far too short to waste on negativity. That doesn't mean we don't speak up and work to make the world a better place; it means that this work of justice needs to come from a place of joy, not never-ending anger and angst. I would call it "holy complaint"; the process by which we ally with others to make the world a better place. Complacency doesn't benefit the oppressed; it benefits the powerful. If they can lull you into believing that everything is in God's hands, or that there is no hope, they've got you. When we give up, we lose. Franti and Spearhead tell us over and over again that sure, "Bad Sh*t Happens, But Good Sh*t Happens Too." So, "Work Hard and Be Nice". We can admit that there is inequality in the world - to do otherwise is ignorance - but we don't have to allow it to keep us down.?

This band's gospel is closer to the teachings of Jesus than any band that says they are "Christian". At the end of the show, they played a recording of John Lennon's "Imagine", a song often castigated as being atheistic and promoting socialism. In fact, "Imagine" asks us to consider what the world would be without religion or borders - imagine the world the way God intended it to be before human beings started messing with it and vying for power. No religion isn't the same as no God. And borders define who is in and who is out (much like Creeds), but they are the result of colonialism; they are not ordained by God. What if we stopped worrying about the differences between the different flavors of religion and started focusing on the similarities we share? What if our mornings started with prayer and joy and unity instead of division and fear and attempts to one-up everyone else? Like Franti and Spearhead tell us so clearly - "Today would be a very good day for a good day." Try it. And try to have a good day. To do otherwise makes no sense.

Prayer - We begin today with hope and joy and peace, O God of all those things. Help us to share those things with others. Amen.

Today's art is "Joy" (2019) by Jaio Dos Anjos.