I have tried to be a quiet as I can. Stillness has been the desire that I sought. As I listened to news and read posts on social media, I have tried to do so as quietly as I can so as not to interject anything into what I am hearing. To use some of the language that Parker Palmer is famous for, I know that the soul is a delicate thing, a timid thing, and so I don't want to scare it off as I contemplate the state of our nation. Gentleness is important.
As Paul reminds us in Galatians we need to be careful that we do not devour each other with our words otherwise we might find ourselves being devoured as well. And so as I read about the end of Roe and consider the gun control legislation and listen to reports from the January 6th commission, I try to be still and suspend judgment and just listen.
However, in that choice, I am the minority.
Even in our 24 hour news cycle where things bubble up and then fade way, these issues seem to live continually before us, and so responses grow more and more hateful and angry by the day. People who I never thought would be so aggressive are becoming more and more aggressive each day.
It was then that I picked up my copy of C.S. Lewis' book A Grief Observed. Again, trying to read and consider the words as gently as I could, I came across these words that I think are spot on as we try to live faithfully in our world:
"On the other hand, 'Knock and it shall be opened.' But does knowing mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac? . . . After all, you must have a capacity to receive, or even omnipotence can't give. Perhaps your own passion temporarily destroys the capacity."
Those are strong words from C.S. Lewis and I think that they are applicable in our lives today. Everyone seems bent on pounding their position, or their beliefs, aggressively out as fast as their fingers can post them. But is that again truly serving God? Is rage the necessary emotion right now?
Perhaps Lewis asks us to suspend our aggression and dwell in stillness with the Lord. I wonder how you might practice this gentleness before the community in which God places you? Perhaps you might a different, more faith-based, response possible? Maybe we can find it together?
Blessings
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