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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Friday, September 27, 2024

Flood the Zone with good

One of the strategies of authoritarians is to “flood the zone” with endless performative stunts, fabrications and lies, and ever-upped incendiary rhetoric to exhaust people. This is done so that we — regular citizens who are busy attending to our own lives — stop paying attention to current events, tune out, and then either don’t vote or waste our votes. And, of course, those same leaders want us to be quiet, to not speak truth in the public square or even to each other.

Last week, I was at an event at Georgetown University, hosted by my friend Jim Wallis, called the Test of Democracy. It was a good event with GREAT people who are giving their all to rise to this political moment. In effect, they are trying to “flood the zone” with goodness, truth, and genuine hope to counter the noise of the authoritarian nationalists…

 

When his weary, anxious friends asked him about the end of the age, Jesus told them not to be alarmed but to be ready. He wanted them to pay attention and look past their fears to see the intimations of the kingdom of God’s justice and love just beyond the horizon.  What does it mean not to be alarmed but to be ready in these treacherous advent days? I think it means finding friends, listening to the right voices, and continuing in faith, hope, and love.

 

That’s why many good people are standing up and speaking out.

 

Please don’t ignore everything that comes your way. I know there are so many essays and articles and podcasts about faith and politics right now. Every day, there are worthy causes and worthy candidates asking for money and resources in your email. It is hard to keep up. Hard to pay attention. The temptation is to stop paying attention. To the annoying things. And then to everything. It would be easier to hole up and hide for the next forty days. Because you are probably exhausted. That’s what the authoritarians want.

 

Look for and listen to those who are flooding the zone with goodness. Stay focused on caring for one another, encouraging each other, and strengthening courage in community. We can all make this advent journey together.

              Diana Butler Bass

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Storm warning!

The warning is clear.

Bad times are coming!

 

Prepare to be deluged.

Swamped

Overwhelmed

Drowned

 

They are coming for your jobs

They are eating dogs and cats

They are evil and violent

They are killing babies

They are Marxists

 

These are the worst times, times like no one has ever seen before

America is a $h!th*!@ country

We are a failing nation. We are a nation that is hostile to liberty, freedom, and faith.

We are a nation whose economy has collapsed …

whose stores are not stocked,

whose deliveries are not coming,

and whose educational system is at the very bottom of every list

 

It rains and it pours

The words flow from the mouths of those who would stoke fear

And intimidate

The hate rises like a flood

And we can barely stand and barely breathe

 

“Long as I remember the rain been comin' down

Clouds of mystery pourin' confusion on the ground

Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun

And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain?”  (John Fogarty)

 

Who indeed?

We are weary!

And we tire of trying to stop the rain

 

Yet we are called to stand

To be alert

 

We are called to “flood the zone” with goodness, truth, and genuine hope

To look past our fears to see the intimations of the kingdom of God’s justice

and love

just beyond the horizon. 

 

We believe in the sun

We believe in the light

More, we carry the light

 

And we are called to shine

caring for one another,

encouraging each other

finding strength and courage

being a community of hope

that cannot be overcome

by the darkness


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