Christmas
December 28, 2018
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12-17
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. –Colossians 3:12-14
For several months I have been receiving the most vitriolic emails from various political sources of my persuasion usually ending in something threatening great doom at the level of “if you do not send money now the world will come to an end.” I would never send money to any such request. I thought they would end after the election, but I am still getting them. Today I took the time to unsubscribe to ones I received and as my time permits, I will continue to do that. We do not need to hate each other to disagree on ways to address issues we are facing. Compromise is not a four-letter word. Finding common ground for the Common Good is always the best way to deal with problems. I have little expertise on how to address climate change, but I am willing to learn from those with knowledge to support sound decision and I do know that some action is needed. On the other hand, I know more than I wish I did about poverty and our health care system and would love to sit and share my experience and understanding with others. I have found that placing a stubborn problem before fresh eyes can result in unique but effective methods to address the issues.
I am going to adopt the above scripture from Colossians as a daily mantra throughout January as I prepare for justice work in 2019. I welcome any of you who are interested to join me.
Prayer: Help us, O Lord, clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience as we strive to do justice in our world today. Amen.