Where we stand

It seems that Vladimir Putin has won.


Of course he succeeded beyond any expectation in getting a destructive, impulsive fool into the Oval Office. He has diminished trust in American institutions and the integrity of democratic elections.

He has helped legitimize his own corrupt, brutal, kleptocracy by raising up a pale orange image of himself in a place which should stand for something better. He has elevated racism and fear to national values rather than cancers to defeat.

He profits from our descent into governmental chaos (although not as much as China, out of the garish spotlight). And no doubt he has gloated at his perverse genius in crippling a rival, while at the same time feeding his own narcissistic apppetite.

This Putin-assisted, self-inflicted national disgrace will continue week after excruciating, shameful week. Because we are obsessed and addicted to this All Trump All The Time train wreck of a too-real surreality show.

God help us to turn away from this, and towards the values which made America great.

Our better angels had a vision of respect for one another, of opportunity and fair treatment, of a society built by the people and for the people. It is time for us to make America great again.

Renounce evil. Turn to what is good. And that means turning to our neighbors, whether we agree or not. None of us can build that more perfect union. We once knew it took unity. Not unanimity, but a willingness to seek the shared good. We the people...


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Which healing? Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Image
This gospel lesson is difficult for preachers. Which healing do you pay attention to? Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Much has been made in recent years of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak. The daily loss of her life-blood not only indicated health problems (an infection? fibroid tumors? uterine cancer?) and sapped her strength (anemia?), it made her unclean. It deprived her of touch, of entry to the Temple, of normal social interaction. For twelve years... Even in her pursuit of healing she tries to be audaciously inconspicuous. The healing she finds in Jesus restores her body, her spirit, and her place in the community. It is difficult to ignore the story the daughter raised from the dead. The brief descriptions in the gospel lesson are easily filled out by imagination and experience. Children continue to die, by accident, illness, and violence, and the chord this sounds is recognizable, resonating deep in the soul. The death of a child strikes hard, on the family and also on the
Read more

Who do you think you are?

Image
Sermon for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost Romans 12:1-8 Matthew 16:13-20 As I listened to the lessons for today, it seemed to me that identity issues are prominent. Jesus asks his disciples "who do you say that I am?" Have they been paying attention? Are they aware of what’s going on? The apostle Paul is also concerned with a couple of identity issues: using the different gifts given to each member, and also finding or forging a new identity, as members of the body of Christ. One reason these "identity issues" stood out for me is that I have been reading a book about the management style of the Jesuits, an organization within the Roman Catholic church. The author, trained as a Jesuit before leaving for a career as an investment banker, makes the case that the thing which has allowed the Jesuits to be a successful 450 year old company, is their focus first of all not on what they do, but on who they are. Their core strength as an organization originates no
Read more

Up in the Air - Sermon for Easter 7

Image
The following sermon was preached in James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary in New York City, at a communion service preceding commencement, May 17, 2002. While many of the references are particular to the setting, the general themes (where to look for God; the awkwardness of losses, in-between times and transitions;it remembering our own stories in light of vocation and mission) are transferrable to other settings. One explanatory note: the chapel was decorated in part by cords hung at irregular places throughout the space. Graduates and other Union students had been invited to hang from these cords symbols from their time at Union (a backpack, theology books, a stethoscope, baby clothes, a chaplain's vest from the WTC recovery), requiring partipants in the service to take note of them and also negotiate their movements around the objects. Up in the Air So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He repli
Read more