I often wonder if I am the only person who is tired of only hearing bad news on the news programs. The cable channels are obsessed with what the latest Trump tragedy is, and the local stations are obsessed with how many people have killed others in DC.
I am convinced that we, as a people, are ready for some good news. We have to remember that our lives and the fullness of them is by keeping our eternal union with God. We want to wake up in the morning and see all people as human beings; we are not of different races; God does not care what religion we practice; She also doesn’t care what gender we are; She sees us only as her children, equal in all respects. I also think that God wants us to see each other the same way.
In the Good Samaritan story, Jesus asks who proves to be the better neighbor. I try to be that neighbor, as we all should.
There is a lot of pressure in the news for us to turn back the clock and view people as Black, as alien, as queer (and I hate that word). These horrible memories and terms are meant to separate us, where God’s words unite us. God wants us to look toward the future and join hands in praise of Her and in praise of us. We are Her legacy: let’s not disappoint Her.
I received an email with a statement by Wangari Maathai, in which he wrote that the challenge (in our lifetime) is to restore the home to the tadpoles, giving the beauty of the world back to our children. We owe this to them. This means that we must control our waste, preserving natural beauty, and be respectful of those who live at the lower edges of our society. And, by respect, we cannot, must not, force them to do what they have rejected or been rejected by.
Some have been forced from society by those who think they do not conform, or, experiences, such as war, have left them empty, psychologically. Others have selected to reject society, because they cannot stomach what society is today.
In either case, we must respect their feelings, their experiences, and their desires: we must invite them to join, or rejoin, our renewed society. We cannot offer them a Garden of Eden (even if we could), but we can offer them the chance to be part of the greater family of humanity, just as God wants us to do. This, I feel, is the message of the Good Samaritan. The parable may be 2000+ years old, but its relevance is everlasting.
I pray that we join together, accept the word of God, and open a better world for the future.
Have a good day, friends – those I know and those I have yet to meet.
God bless!
Meditating to Heal 