“I have always believed that my duty is not only to liberate myself from the oppressor, but also to liberate my oppressors from their hatred and fear.”—Mahmoud Khalil, illegally detained pro-Palestinian activist, US permanent resident, and Columbia University student
Verse of the day
Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
– John 19:10-11
Voice of the day
Jesus is that great voice of otherwise, who saw the contradictions of the gospel to the Roman Empire and who acted out an alternative.
– Walter Brueggemann, “Jesus Acted Out the Alternative to Empire”
Prayer of the day
Help us follow Jesus, who saw the contradictions of empire and offered an alternative vision of your kingdom, where justice, peace, and love reign, not of this world but from you alone.
“Our healing is intimately tied to the healing of the collective. When we are committed to true community, we seek justice for all who are suffering. Solidarity is an essential part of community and healing together.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Monk in the World: An Online, Self-Study Retreat
In what way has your personal healing journey nourished communal justice, and in what way has your justice seeking brought inner healing?
I have come to think that care of the soul requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for the soul. — Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (p. viii)
“If love and compassion thrive alongside the clear recognition of the importance and rights of others, they will reach even those who would do you harm.”—HH The Dalai Lama, How to Be Compassionate
I think that we can say that democracy is a form of government that demands more virtue of its citizens than any other form of government, but I do not think that we can say that democracy guarantees that the virtue will be exercised. So let us term freedom of choice less a virtue than a necessity, a precondition to real freedom, which is the ability to make choices that are generous, loving, and wise. Our wills are not free when they will what is bigoted, narrow, ungenerous. Our wills are only free when they can will the will of a loving God. “Thy will be done on earth.” — Credo, pp. 80-81
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”—Mohandas Gandhi
“This is an extraordinary time full of vital, transformative movements that could not be foreseen. It’s also a nightmarish time. Full engagement requires the ability to perceive both.”—Rebecca Solnit
Verse of the day
And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”
– Matthew 25:40
Voice of the day
God’s presence can be felt and heard in the call to stand up for justice and mercy among the marginalized in this and every society.
– J. Jioni Palmer, “Put Your Shoes On. We Are Marching”
Prayer of the day
May we serve the marginalized because in doing so, we are serving you, reflecting your justice and mercy.
Hardly anyone in the world believes territorial discrimination to be as evil as racial or religious discrimination. But it is. Nationalism, at the expense of another nation, is just as wicked as racism at the expense of another race. In other words, good patriots are not nationalists. A nationalist is a bad patriot. — Credo, p. 79
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