Today's Thought - Spiritual Resistance, Part 1

+ This Sunday at Calvary - Worship at 8 & 10:30 and (S4) Second Sunday Sunday School (including Lunch) right after the 2md service. There's also a program about Spirituals at St. Paul's UCC in Amityville from 2-4.

Last night I attended two gatherings. The first was held at my church in the area used by the LGBT Center of Reading. It was quickly put together with Reading Pride and was meant to be a time to talk and feel and express concerns and fears about the election. The second was an annual Kristallnacht Remembrance held at Christ Episcopal Church which was co-sponsored by different entities within the Jewish community in our area. The first was about what might be - the second was about what was - but at both gatherings there were many of the same conversations, and the same question: what do we do now?

Many of the same statements were made as well. "They sold my rights for what they think will result in lower prices for eggs." "The gave away my protections for what they think will make them safer." In fact, we have no idea what is about to take place in America - things could carry on as usual, or they could get scary. For people who feel they are being targeted, however, that really doesn't matter. What matters is how their fears will damage them and all of us. What matters is how we respond. And if my Jewish friends express concern about the rise of anti-Semitism, it would be totally inappropriate to tell them it is just their perceptions, so don't worry. If my Muslim friends tell me they are concerned for their safety, it would be hard-hearted to say that it is all in their heads.?

What America needs is a Spiritual Resistance. This is why I gathered a number of concerned clergy and lay people a little over a year ago for something I am calling "The God is Love Initiative." To be part of it, your religious organization, or you as an individual, need to believe that all people are equal and have equal access to all that your faith community affords. You might be surprised how many faith communities cannot participate; the vast majority do not allow women or LGBTQ people to be ordained, for example. Those faith communities who do not publicly support a political party or candidate - which is illegal, by the way - need to be vigilant about people's rights. We need to be allies - we need to offer our homes and buildings as safe havens for those who might be in danger. In the case of those who follow Jesus, we need to continue to point out the fake Christians crowing about making America a Christian nation, something it never was to begin with.?

We need to be like the Confessing Church in Germany in the 1930's, willing to stand against those so-called people of faith who may come with torches and pitchforks as they chase imaginary monsters in the name of their god. Because fear, whether you agree with it or not, is real, and unless good people stand with those who are targeted against the mob, all hell with break loose. Real people of real faith need to stand on the side of God as a force of spiritual resistance. God asks nothing less.

Prayer - Holy God, teach us how to stand with one another in the midst of fear. May Your peace reach those who are afraid and those who are causing that fear. Amen.

Today's art is "Spiritual Healing" by Sinisa Simon.

www.leadershipministry.org?

www.calvaryreformeducc.org?

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