Bridges

We are not as near each other as we would like to imagine. Words create bridges between us. Without them we would be lost islands. Affection, recognition and understanding travel across these fragile bridges and enable us to discover each other and awaken friendship and intimacy. Words are never just words. The range and depth of a person's soul is inevitably revealed in the quality of the words used. When chosen with reverence and care, words not only describe what they say but also suggest what can never be said.

                                                                        John O'Donohue,  Excerpt from BEAUTY

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It times of stress

whether that stress be societal (an election)

or personal (a loss, or other trials)

we are either drawn radically together

or we are driven apart

which one it is has, often, to do with our words

words are bridges

they are the fragile link (along with actions) between us

and over these bridges can pass many things

anger, hate, frustration, fear

love, acceptance, comfort

and yes, love

sometimes the waters between us are

roiled by many powerful things which threaten

to destroy the tenuous link we have forged

as hate and fear and distrust roar

as people (and webpages) with agendas that are often hidden and horrible

seek, literally to sow discord and anger

our connection to each other is threatened

when there is pain and sorrow

when there is loss an suffering

and bad thing happens

our connection to each other is threatened

Sometimes the bridges simple collapse, and all that is left between us is the churning rage 

Sometimes the bridges hold, the connection persists

And love, kindness, and compassion, still make their way between us

We need to take care of the bridge

Build it well, and strong

We need to have care, what passes across is

It is so easy to throw words on a computer screen

And send them flying through the internet

So easy to let words of anger and frustration flow forth

Toppling the bridges between us

And filling the space between

With dark and ugly things

Words are never just words

They are a caress

Or a slap

They build

Or destroy

I am not always careful with my words

Neither of some of those who speak to me

But in this dark time

While hatred, racism, and many other things

Flow around us, a flood

We need our bridges

We need love and compassion

We need each other

Hearts of Stone

" The rain will be of no avail ....

upon hearts,

... which have turned into stones. "

                             - Sheikh Sultan Bahoo

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We must not close down

And turn our hearts to stone

So that we might bear the terror of this age

For Sacred Love cannot write

Words of hope upon stone

Sacred power flows

Only through hearts

That dare to be open

We must accept pain and suffering

And continue striving

If light is to return

God of the Small

“I do the very best I know how, the very best I can,

and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.” 

                                                           Abraham Lincoln

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I am scared

I mean it

Such a small group of people

Given power by less than a quarter of Americans

Have so much power to do so much damage

In such a short amount of time

And so much power to do so much good

But in this moment

Given who has been elected

And who is pulling the strings behind the scenes

And the cold compassionless legislators

for whom money and power are more important than people

I believe that damage is what we will see

I wonder if this is how it felt

To be a Unionist in the early days of the Civil War

To be Abraham Lincoln

And see beyond the unfinished dome of the capital building

The campfire smokes of the confederacy

And know how fragile our democracy really is

And now here we are again

In danger

The dangers are too many to list

And creating a litany of dangers will not help

Those who are willing to see, already know them

Those who have chosen not to see, won’t

So this leaves me with the question of what to do

I have said I wanted to disappear

I still do

I am tired of trying to get people to do their homework

Find the truth

Trying to counter the lies that come from all those horrible websites that support

Both ends of the spectrum

And effectively pull America apart

I am tired of trying to be positive and not angry

I am tired of the knot in my stomach when I read about the first 100 days

Which may be the first 100 days of a long and terrible “war” (of sorts)

That will cost many people their souls and even their lives

Tired of look at the potential, wonton destruction of things that while not perfect, were things that

Took us toward a compassionate inclusive society

So I don’t want to be here

Back again writing in this blog

But the passage I am preaching on this week says

“Do not tire from doing good”

And then there is Abraham Linicoln

So here I am

Avoiding Facebook as much as possible

Avoiding the TV

And I will be insisting, that in spite of what way too religious folk say

By their words, actions, and attitudes,

That God is love

God is compassion, inclusion, acceptance,

God is sacrifice,

God has and needs no ego

God abhors injustice and inequity

God is anguished when people refuse to share

This is the uncomfortable God

that is the true God

The truth is that many in America

(not as many as it feels like, less than 25% voted for Trump)

have chased after a God who is about power, domination

hate, winning, ego, and wealth,

a god who crushes enemies

and abhors the poor

a god who excludes

This God is worshiped in many American Churches

Not in mine

I can’t stop the right wing as it attacks (yes attacks)

Muslims, the LGBTQI community, the poor

I can’t stop the GOP from destroying our health care system

I can’t stop the attempt to make America a theocracy which follows a caricature of God

But I can, in my office

As people come in for support and counseling

Offer unconditional love and acceptance

I can accept this person, who is so afraid of what Trump will do

How he will affect their life

I can comfort this person and let them know

We care

All of us, Republican and Democrat alike

Who work at Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness

We care, and will be here, protecting, caring, advocating

And I can, in my church, work to ensure that

We at Lostine Presbyterian Church, remain an outpost of the Kingdom

A place where love wins

Where anyone is welcome

and accepted

a place that is safe

for anyone

anyone

conservative, liberal, outcast, addict

frightened parent, scared child

we will be here

and our God will be here

waiting

to welcome those

who would dare

shout against the darkness

we will be here

reviled by some

Called “new age” or “a cult”  (yes, we have heard these words)

waiting to welcome those

who just need a place they can breathe

Who need to know they have value

And are loved

Who need to know that God is love

And love will ultimately win

It is a challenge to say that right now

For so many times in our history

The way back from the kind of abyss we are now in

Has been full of terrible moments

And much pain

But God is love

And God is always the God of the small

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Praise to the Lord of the small broken things,

who sees the poor sparrow that cannot take wing.

who loves the lame child and the wretch in the street

who comforts their sorrows and washes their feet.

Praise to the Lord of the faint and afraid

who girds them with courage and lends them His aid,

He pours out his spirit on vessels so weak,

that the timid can serve and the silent can speak.

Praise to the Lord of the frail and the ill

who heals their afflictions or carries them till,

they leave this tired frame and to paradise fly.

to never be sick and never to die.

Praise him, O praise Him all ye who live

who’ve been given so much and can so little give

our frail lisping praise God will never despise-

He sees His dear children through mercy-filled eyes.

                                           Johanna Anderson