On this Good Friday while I consider Jesus, who was condemned by a kangaroo court and executed by the Empire I found myself considering this selection from Fr Daniel Berrigan, SJ’s rendering of the Prophet Isaiah’s thoughts on King Nebuchadnezzar as found in Isaiah 14:4-6.
To this has he come, the tyrant?
to dead end his arrogance?
Yahweh broke him, a dry stick—
broken scepter, broken bones
In hell
The great braggart and blight
wavers, staggers forward,
a face of cobweb—
a skinny shade,
ragged, tattered.
Verse of the day
If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
– James 2:15-17
Voice of the day
Hope is like oxygen. But I don’t think that hope is enough in this conflict. We need more responsibility. We need action plans. We need strategy. We need to strategize that hope to be effective.
– Ali Abu Awwad, “‘My Goal Is Not to Have a Dialogue; My Goal Is to Solve This Madness’”
Prayer of the day
Stir in us a faith that does not settle for empty hope, but rises with responsibility, strategy, and action to meet the real needs of the oppressed and build peace with our hands as well as our hearts.
“The world has enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”—Mohandas Gandhi
Forty years ago today I raised my right hand and swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic… it was my second year of seminary and I was beginning my journey with the USAF Chaplain Service as a Chaplain Candidate, Second Lieutenant.
I swore that oath again when I was promoted to Chaplain, First Lieutenant and again when I went on Active duty as a Chaplain, Captain. Each time I was promoted I would swear the oath again.
The last time I did was when I was promoted for the last time as a Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel in 2006. I retired in 2011 after 26 years of service.
I’m not telling this story to seek attention or to seek appreciation for my service. I am telling this story in order to help anyone reading this to understand how deeply I am saddened, angered, frustrated, and furious over what has happened in this nation.
It began on January 6, 2021 as I watched a mob of so-called patriots attack the Capitol and attempt to stop the certification of of the presidential election. The level of violence and hypocrisy was overwhelming. The division between people only grew deeper. I saw that in the churches I served between 2016 and 2020 and beyond. There was no way that I could have imagined the current situation we are in when I retired from active ministry in 2023. I had no idea that we would be where we are as a nation today.
Listening to the protest music of the 1960’s and 70’s I consider the way forward. Walking this Holy Week journey with Jesus from Jerusalem to the Cross takes on a whole new meaning in these times.
As I reflect and plan my own response, I am being challenged to remember some key touchstones from my own faith and life. In the Hebrew Scriptures the prophet Micah told the people what God required from God’s people. We are called to do justice, love kindness/mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus tells us how we should love: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” He also teaches in Matthew 5:44 that we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
These particular verses have been a foundational influence on my ministry for nearly 38 years. They will continue to inform me as I chart my way forward in response to this national crisis. Additionally, I will prayerfully remember that, in the words of Thomas Merton, the God of peace is never glorified by human violence. (No Man Is an Island)
If you have read to the end of this blog, I am deeply grateful for your concern and support. May the God of peace guide us as we seek to be a witness to the light of God’s promise in these difficult times.
But give me the strength that waits upon You in silence and peace. Give me humility in which alone is rest, and deliver me from pride which is the heaviest of burdens. And possess my whole heart and soul with the simplicity of love. Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity, but for You alone. For there is only one thing that can satisfy love and reward it, and that is You alone. — New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 45
…we should be helping one another—let’s put it in simpler words—to love. We help one another to love more, and you help people to love, not by saying “love,” but by loving. That’s the justification of our life: if there is love, it’s justified, and if should not be just a little in-growing love. It should be a love that reaches out to everybody. — Thomas Merton in California: The Redwood Conferences & Letters edited by David M. Odorisio (p. 52)
Verse of the day
This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.
– Matthew 15:8-9
Voice of the day
What, then, is the word of the religion of Jesus to those who stand with their backs against the wall?
– Howard Thurman, “The Howard Thurman Question That Changed My Faith”
Prayer of the day
May we as a church move from empty worship to truly following the teachings of Jesus, not the world.
Verse of the day
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.
– Deuteronomy 24:14-15
Voice of the day
Honor the hands that harvest your crops.
– Dolores Huerta
Prayer of the day
May we honor the hands that harvest our crops by upholding justice and compassion, ensuring fair wages and dignity for every laborer.
“I am firmly convinced that nonviolence cannot exist only in books or on the seminal level on our university campuses, but it must exist in the flesh. I have always believed that people are the most important element we have. We must put flesh into our nonviolence rather than simply talk about it.”—César Chávez
“This world is promoting so much despair. Our politicians and corrupted leadership are promoting so much despair. For me as a leader, I cannot just close my mouth. I cannot stop. I live one life, and I want this life to promote life for others after we go.”—Ali Abu Awwad
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 