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A Few Words from Pastor Bryan
...and the candidates
I watched the presidential debate last night. I imagine a lot of you did too.
No--these "few words" are not going to be about politics. They are about us as a community of faith and about us as individuals trying to stay centered in the Spirit of God (Love) in the midst of what's going on in our nation and in our world. And of course I'm speaking for myself here, but I have a feeling a lot of you probably felt some of the same things I did after watching the debate last night.
I felt sad, alarmed, a bit bewildered that we are where we are in this presidential year, weary and sick of being lied to, and on the verge of despair regarding the political process and the candidates the two major parties have put before us. That debate was painful to watch.
Forget the politics for a minute. Just as a fellow human, it was painful to watch President Biden struggle as he did. I'm not going to say more than that in this format. I have lots of feelings and opinions as I'm sure many of you do. All I'm saying here is that it was hard to watch him not do well in front of millions of people. My heart went out to him.
It was also painful to watch and listen to former president Trump. That's about all I'm going to say now. In fact I'll just say the exact same thing I said about Biden. It was hard to watch Trump not do well in front of millions of people. Yes, even that is an opinion I know, but I'll leave that there. Ask me if you want to know more about what I think and I'll be glad to speak to you as a fellow citizen and as a person of faith. And yes, in a different way, my heart went out to former president Trump as well. And to all of us watching.
But here's what I really want to say to us all. Our deepest call and gift to our nation and to our world, each other, and to ourselves at this point in history is to stay grounded and centered in the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Love. Kindness. Truth. Justice. Humility. To remember, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13, that there are "three things that remain--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love." We need to remember that Energy is everything, and help each other avoid the pitfalls of losing ourselves in the negative energies of the politics of anger, arrogance, resentment, and blame. We need to remain open and humble even as we embrace, stand, and vote on the basis of our own deepest convictions and commitments to the common good and the well-being of all and especially those most exploited and marginalized. None of us have it all figured out. None of us are completely right, even when we are called to take a stand based on our beliefs. There is NEVER an excuse to stop loving someone, and there is great danger in "toxic certainty" on any side of any issue or argument. We need to stay deeply connected to the Spirit and not let any political process or reality or event cause us to forget who we are. We need to learn how to have discussions about hard issues without either losing our own voice or refusing to hear the positions of others.
I guess what I'm really saying here is that no matter how difficult or messed up this electoral year gets, we need to help each other be vessels of the best of who we are as people of Spirit and followers of Jesus. God is with us and within us (and ALL people and all of Creation) now, and no matter what happens in November, God will still be in the midst of Reality with us. The big challenge is staying conscious of the Truth that God is not somehow "separate" from us or from any aspect of our life together. Our gift to our society will be to enter into the hard conversations and processes of this electoral year as people who are grounded and centered in the Spirit of Love. Let's help each other do that and be that.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." This world can get pretty heavy. I'm so glad Jesus knew we'd all need a rest now and then. Maybe especially after listening to a train wreck of a presidential debate. So let's pace ourselves. It's likely to be a very full year to come.
Well, I feel a little bit better. I hope you do too. And those thoughts about not being separate from God--because it's impossible to actually be separate from God--or for any aspect of life (like politics) to somehow be separate from God--made me think of one of my favorite little poems from the Sufi mystic poet Hafiz. I'll leave you with it.
Hope to see you Sunday,
Pastor Bryan
A Cushion For Your Head (by Hafiz)
Just sit there right now
Don’t do a thing
Just rest.
For your separation from God,
From love,
Is the hardest work
In this
World.
Let me bring you trays of food
And something
That you like to
Drink.
You can use my soft words
As a cushion
For your
Head.
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