Author: rkcdlitt

The Freedom to Stop Oppression in Ourselves

What we’re searching for, we already know. We are blessed us with this amazing life, with eyes to see, ears to hear, a mind to discern, and a heart in which to perceive something else other than ourselves living in our midst. Do we have the courage to face it?

I say courage, because admitting that we are not the end-all to everything can be difficult. The willingness to give up something, even if it is a little of ourselves, can be a little scary; and since it seems that most people have a negative one-track mind, a little bit useless. It is very easy to say, “Why bother; nobody cares; and if they do, who will it affect.” I live by the code that my mission in this life is to change the world. I know that I cannot do that, so, I try to change something that is within my sphere of influence. It is why I continue to teach at the age of 75.

When I went into teaching, age 53, I vowed to teach as long as I felt I was making a difference, as long as I knew that I continue to change my little corner of the world. My body is continuing to weaken as I age, and I am now in the position of change, a change that is calling me to switch my focus from teaching to some other way to accomplish my promise. I don’t know how I can do this, but I will try.

Maybe by example. One of Jesus’ messages is that being human is good. We have lost sight of this. Our personal needs, at all levels of society, have superseded our ability for compassion. I have heard people say things, such as, so what; when we go to heaven, God will sort things out. Where is heaven? I believe that it is within us. It is not a place to go when we die. Our view of this causes us to be overly harmed our relationships with sexuality, food, possessions, money, animals, nature, politics, and our own incarnate selves.

I see the greed in America, the me first, the lack of respect for others as is demonstrated by all of the sexual abuse news we are confronted with. God will sort it out when we die. When we continue with this abstract falsehood, we will always be subjected to the living nightmare that many in this world live with. I question why some people feel that they have to take from others when they have it all now. Isn’t having it all enough; or are these people just little piggies in a dirty slime. Just a thought: pigs are highly intelligent animals; I wonder if the are more intelligent than mankind. But that’s a topic for another time.

We desperately dance between the loneliness and desperation of our false selves and the fullness of the self that we should be, which is re-discovered and experienced anew as an ultimate homecoming. Our journey is a path of deeper realization and transformation, never a straight line, but a back and forth journey that ever deepens the consciousness of God within us. It is maturing; it is waking up.

We are given free will; but this free will is not a blessing, at least not the way we are handling it. Our unwillingness to allow others to have free will limits our own free will. We are so darkened by all of the oppression of the powerful over others, that our liberties are a curse, not a blessing.

I pray that by trying to change my little corner of the world, life can be a blessing to those, not a curse.

Wisdom’s Call

Above all else, we must listen to Wisdom, not what we hear on the news.

We are at a crossroads; at least I am. I like to think that the path I am on is the correct path, but with the many hats I wear, I can never be too sure what path I pull from the nether regions. I know to true comfort and maybe true happiness, I must search for Wisdom. She stands at the portico of the next phase of my life. If I listen, She cries out to me, offering what is true, offering prudence, offering truly unobstructed justice in my daily life. If I take the time to listen for her.

Wisdom detests evil and only speaks words that are just, uncorrupted by perversity, misrepresentation, or deception.

It’s not easy tuning all other voices out of our radio brains. Wherever we turn, there are people who profess a very limited view on just about every topic imaginable. And, sometimes, I seem to be one of them.

I teach freshmen comp in college; I am a stickler for rules. As a result, some, not all, of my students think that all of the rules are absolutely ridiculous. And, they are correct. I do this to allow the students to develop disciplined minds that will offer well-balanced arguments. In other words, they must train their minds to think about what they are writing. In reality, the way they write is unimportant; it’s what they say that is. I pray that my stringency can pay off for them in the long run.

This seems to be a weak excuse for defending my likeness to other voices. I like to think that what I have to say is at least closer to what Wisdom offers, and not what some narrow-minded philosophy professes. At times, I walk a fine line between the two.

I wrote an essay on Wisdom in my graduate work, and in the middle of the essay I referred to the sculptures of Socrates in deep concentration and Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, ready for war. Socrates is considered to be one of the greatest minds in history; thus, he is shown seated with his elbow and his knee and his chin resting on his upturned hand. A pose of deep concentration, i.e. Rodin’s The Thinker.

On the other hand, Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom is always shown prepared for battle. I know, she was also the goddess of war. But why the two? Why the different portrayals.

As much as I love the statues and painting of Socrates in deep concentration, I think the images of Athena are probably more apropos.

Wisdom is always in a battle for Truth; notice the capitals. Truth is capitalized because there is only one truth. Wisdom know this truth. Socrates, one of the greatest thinkers, must search for Truth, lest he fail. His is the more difficult task. But, both are vitally important.

God gives us the gift to accept, understand, and teach true Wisdom. We have to work to achieve this.

One last note; isn’t it interesting that both Greek and Roman deities for Wisdom are female!!

Of the many things in this world that truly bothers me is the duality forced on us by those in power. But this has always been the case.

In our Christian upbringing, we are told of the seven deadly sins, the ones that will never be forgiven. Our priests and ministers, our fathers and mothers, and our teachers and bosses drill this into our heads. The leaders create laws with harsh punishments for violating these deadly sins. Just to modernize the names, we are talking about: selfishness, greed, lust, ambition, laziness, pride, and deceit.

The obvious question is which one of our political, religious, or educational leaders do not break each of these on a continual basis. I will only mention greed, although all of them are just as important. It is a crime to steal. And yet, the masses are subject to losing everything at the hands of the leaders. Low wages, a lack of supported health insurance, the high cost of everything from food for our tables to education, which will allow us some form of financial stability. All of these are legislated against the poor.

Congress cannot pass a budget; so, the officials shut down the government in protest, protest against who can live where, who can earn what. I have many friends who are now on unpaid leave. This means that it is very likely that their paychecks will be less, due to the shutdown; but our congressmen and senators will continue to get paid.

Costs of education are rising, because congress limits what the government will spend on education; so, counties and cities have to scrimp, causing lower school teachers to spend their own money to buy pencils and paper for their students. And remember, teachers are one of the lower-paid working classes in the country. Many teachers are forced to get their food at food pantries.

When we speak of college, state funding for even community colleges is so low that even the cost to go to one of these is getting out of the reach for many. Greed, a wonderful sin for the rich to profit from.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

We are also taught to be humble, which I think is a wonderful virtue. As with learning to get along, our leaders missed that day in kindergarten. I am always amazed at how boastful our leaders are. There vainglory is only surpassed by their bombastic talk.

We live in a wonderful country, a country that my fathers, my son, and I all served faithfully in the armed services. Historically, all men were subject to serve in the military, but no longer. How many elected officials have worn the uniform . . . embarrassingly few. If we are supposed to be equal in this country, then we should demand true equality. But, then again, Napoleon, the pig in Orwell’s Animal Farm did say that everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others. That holds so true today in this democracy we call America.

Our self-appointed leaders, those who twist the words of the Bible to suit their personal needs always let us down. Always think of what is good for them, not us. Demand that we praise them for deeds not yet, or never, done. These are the false gods that holy men from the time of Abraham to the time of Martin warn us about.

One ridiculous point: there are so many laws against sex and abortion. Our leaders do not allow women the right to control their own body. The Bible is quoted as a resource for these laws. Sex is mentioned less than 50 times in the Bible. Hmmm  . . . want to know how many time poverty is mentioned? Over 2000!!! Where are the laws against poverty? Twisted vengeful thinking

 I am strengthened by my understanding of my position in this world. Unless I win the lottery, which I doubt will ever happen, I will never be rich, money rich. But I am rich in so many other ways. I have a terrific loving family. I teach, and most of my students appreciate the effort I put forth to help them improve their lives. I also have faith. I know that God provides. I have had so many “Bad” things happen to me, that at times I have wanted to throw in the towel. But I am strengthened by those around me. The people that God put in my life to give me the support I needed to survive. I am truly blessed. God is my refuge in this chaotic world. When I take the time to think and pray, I am settled by His presence in my life.

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The psalmist writes: “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”

I haven’t suffered as many people have been forced to live. Saying that, I have had some trials that have tested me; some I have passed; others have shocked me to my very core.

Being the former tough-guy Marine, I never gave anyone real credit for my ability to bounce back. But, bouncing back has been more difficult over the past five years; I believe it is an age thing . . . definitely not a willingness thing; although it has been more of an issue psychologically as each year passes. My “never-give-up” attitude sometimes evolves into a “who-gives-a-damn” philosophy. Fortunately, I have a wonderful wife who snaps me from these times of being down.

Maybe because I am on a vestry retreat at the Roslyn Center in Richmond; maybe this weekend, in addition to being a work weekend for the team is also a spiritually-enriched period of quiet reflection. In my meditation, I bring back into my thinking the fact that we all are children of God. And, like a loving parent, God tends to our cuts and bruises so that we can go out and play some more . . . to get more cuts and bruises. But each time, we run home to that loving parent for a little first aid and a lot of love. Mom gets hurt when we ignore her; dad gets huffy when we argue with him; but both love us dearly.

When my children were “growing up,” we were there to cuddle and nurture them; celebrate their victories; hu them tightly when they fail. We do for our children, as our parents did for us. It is related to the preservation of continued growth for the species, mankind. Without this, mankind could not have lasted. Even in the animal kingdom, the mature member nurtures the immature until the immature can live on its own and grow families of its own. Darwin had a lot to do with proving this in his book The Origin of Species.

This entire preamble has been to remind me, to remind us, that God is that loving, nurturing parent who is beside us eternally to heal our wounds and hug us when we fail. Too often, however, and by that, I mean most often, we do not turn to God when things go wrong. And, if we do, we blame him for not being there to help of protect us. See the difference? We ran to our parents for aid and comfort, but we blame God for our cuts and bruises.

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help.” In my distress! And only in my distress.  Why not, in my love, I turned to God. In my joy, I turned to God? When we are successful, we turn to our family and say let’s celebrate. We should include God in this celebration, but I turned to God in my distress.

And, like a true loving parent, He opens his arms and welcomes us like the prodigal son. . . over and over and over again. Today, in my distress, I am not turning to God asking for a band-aid to cover my wound, I am turning to God to thank him for being the true parent we all have.

Promise

Promise is a very powerful word. It is a word that can mean everything in the world, but to many, it can mean very little. I am attending our annual vestry retreat weekend at the Roslyn Retreat Center in Richmond, Virginia. It is the first night, so one would imagine little being accomplished. This is not so. Our first evening session has ended, and I am enjoying the peace of quiet of my room, meditating; thinking of how God continues to play a part in my life. These first few hours were decidedly uplifting. After our first session, I can feel how close this group has already grown. From the leadership of Father Joe and Senior Warden Ethyl, we have come together spiritually in a way that is unusual, at best. In our world of mistrust, one would think that it would take several meetings to form close spiritual bonds we have already.

God promises that She will always be within me, regardless of how imperiled I may be. This is a very comfortable thought. This means that no matter how much pain I am in, no matter how depressed I become because I cannot bounce back as I did 50 years ago, I am not suffering alone. God has taken the most painful part of my worries and relieved me of the nagging pain and discomfort. I digress to this because when I awakened this morning, I was very reluctant to join the retreat. I had a very difficult night with very little sleep . . . my second in two nights. However, being driven by emotions, duties, and my background, I am unable to succumb willingly to failure. And, not showing up would be failure. In a word, I was prepared to spend a weekend in extreme discomfort, ruing my decision to spend three days, not in my own home or bed.

I don’t know what tonight will bring, but the fact that the group felt God’s presence with us throughout this first evening has completely eradicated my hesitant foreshadowing. I never ceased to be amazed how God’s presence in my life can be so transformative. Tonight, I experienced this transformation, feeling that God was in the room with us as we spoke of serious things, serious plans, and spiritual renewal. He was also in the room as we lovingly joked and shared embarrassing moments, or shared the fact that only one of us has a tattoo. God loves tattoos.

It is now 4:30 AM, I stopped writing this last evening because I could not concentrate. I finally turned out lights at midnight, and I awoke at 3:30 AM . . . fully refreshed. When I first got into bed, my feeling was one of trepidation; strange beds and bad backs do not comfort make. I propped my self up, and meditated, expelling all issues of the day from my cognition. Zonk!!! The next thing I was aware of was awakening at 3:30 . . . again, fully refreshed.

I am so blessed to be where I am. I am comforted by God wherever and whenever I allow him to enter my being (although I know He is always within me). I am also strengthened, knowing His comfort and knowing that his angel on earth, my wonderful Linda, is with me forever and forevermore.

Isaiah writes: “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Yes, I am joyfully blessed.

Hope

Hope was and still is a major theme in the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember some of his speeches in the 1960s, but the true involvement was my sister, Judy, who spent most of her life working to help others get free from the bonds of poverty, and yes, modern slavery – human trafficking. I remember the 1960s all too well; I was in the USMC and the USMC Reserves from 1963 to 1967. The number of times I was exposed to being posted to Vietnam were many, frightening, and very bothersome. Due to injuries while on active duty, I never did go. I recall Dr. King preaching hope.

But, I do remember the frustration, the anger, the loss of all hope, as I saw my brothers in arms going to and returning from war, sometimes in pieces. I also remember the race riots in Detroit, Newark, Los Angeles. Due to my age, I cannot recall what exact years, but with a little research, I could rediscover this time. And, King preached hope.

The other thing that I remember so well, and can never forget was the violence. Beginning with the assassinations, I enlisted on the day JKF died; my sister, a follower of MLK, and I shared tears when King was murdered in Tennessee. And I was watching on TV when RFK was killed after a rally, while running for president. The hope of MLK was lessened, but it did not die.

These were dark times in the life of the country; they were also dark times around the world with wars, cultural upheavals, and struggles for freedom, be they racial or gender equality. I remember well the violence at the Democratic President Convention, when Chicago police brutally beat protestors, demonstrators, and newsmen equally with little regard for humanity. Through it all, the message of MLK continued as hope, not just for the black man, but for humanity. It is what we had to fall back on in our frustration and anger. Hope cannot die!

That was fifty years ago. We are now living in another dark age, both at home and abroad. The culture of America has been lessened due to the seeming lack of caring by all our political leaders. I will not just pick on one person or one party; they all are to blame. The lack of cooperation in Washington has affected the entire world; hope is not a message that is transforming human culture; but, perhaps the lack of hope is.

During my times of spiritual reflection and prayer, I reaffirm my belief, my understanding, and my faith that all will return to normal. But how many will sacrifice, how many will lose lives, lose status, lose families?

I find it difficult to accept that we, as a country, are allowing our government to deport men who have families, who were brought to the United States when infants. The message from government is go home, ignoring the fact that this is the only home they have ever known. They are being sent to a strange country, and in some cases, do not even speak the language.

How evil our government has become, how uncaring, how insensitive, and how greedy. On this day, after the celebrations of MLK’s birthday, I am rereading his speeches, remembering the impact he had on our society. We met his message with violence. Will we continue to meet all messages of hope and equality with more violence. I hope not; but I do remember that violence was used 2000 years ago. We do like to murder hope and good news; don’t we?

I pray for Hope!!!

Intimacy is the goal of our spiritual journeys. This communion is not only with God, but with our fellow humans. Our prayers are gifts from God to help us attain this intimacy, She so desires for our mutual connectedness. Unfortunately, we are limited in our ability to attain this intimacy; we can only attain it by being present in our minds, which is almost impossible for us. Most often, we are rehashing past deeds, or planning for future responsibilities. We ignore what is with us at any given moment, and this is what prevents us from attaining the communion God desires. How can we have relations with others, when we cannot even relate to ourselves?

Each Sunday, and for some, several times each week, we gather at our altars to celebrate Communion, Communion with Christ and God. Then, we go on our separate ways, ignoring the closeness that comes with this sacred ritual. I use the term ritual, because, for many, that is all it is. When we break bread, and share the cup of wine, we get a feeling of closeness. I can see it in the faces of my fellow members as they pass by my healing prayer station every Sunday morning. Twenty minutes later, in the meeting hall, all I hear are conversations of work, school, the stock market, or how our president is doing; nothing on the sermon or the spiritual experience of intimacy with God. That feeling of community has dissipated into the subconscious, only to be re-called the next Sunday.

I find this to be very disappointing. Disappointing, because all too often, I am guilty of the same frivolity. We are not taught to do otherwise. Every Sunday, we leave church with the promise to walk in the way that Jesus wants. Going with God! My question is: why? Why not take what we have just experienced, let the feeling of one-ness stay with us, letting it grow into a true communion with each other and with God? We are only limited by our abilities to live in the present time.

As I write this, I am very much staying in the present; but, subconsciously, I am also thinking about what prayers I will offer at the upcoming vestry retreat this weekend. I am presently involved in writing these thoughts, while thinking about this weekend. I practice contemplative prayer, trying to focus on my present relationship with God. My mind wanders, and I am constantly refocusing on what I want to accomplish. What I want to accomplish! Why is it necessary to accomplish anything? Why isn’t the prayer enough? I think that we limit ourselves in this manner, because from an early age, our parents are preparing us to succeed, to be successful in our line of work, in our family relations, in our community.

This is ignoring where success is truly needed. Our success, if it has any importance at all, should be directed towards how we will prepare and live our eternal lives. Money and stature have no place in eternity. I try my best to treat all whom I meet as I want to be treated. I try my best to be a good person. I try my best to try to make it easier for others. Aren’t you impressed by my trying to be? I’m not.

I am reminded of the t-shirt with the words I’m with Stupid emblazoned on the front. There are times that this arrow should be pointing inward. No matter how much I meditate, learn, study, think, I fall back unsure of how to think, react, follow what I know is correct.

I included the following in a praise prayer I recently wrote:

I pray that You continue to allow me to walk in Your footsteps, to follow Your way, to recognize the need for You in others. For when I walk with You, fear is no longer my companion. Indecision no longer manifests my soul. I rejoice in Your Love.

I know, as we all do, that what I should be doing is working to be what God wants. No matter how others try to prevent our doing this, we must be on the path to attain intimacy with ourselves, with others, and with God. Our lives depend on it.

Companionship: Love in a world of Hate 

We are in the midst of a self-made crisis in the United States. Some of our leaders have little respect for people who do not look as they do. In a word, we are experiencing a form of racism that we all thought was long dead. But then again, I am not a person of color, so, I am only speaking from a 75-year-old white viewpoint.

We should be led by the laws of Love set down by Jesus. We should not be judging people for what they look like or where they come from. I think He makes this very clear in his statement that we must love each other as we love ourselves. Practicing this will lead us to a freedom guaranteed by God.

We need His faith to survive this period in our lives. If we do not live this faith, we suffer a lack of freedom that will change our world. This loss of freedom comes as a loss of faith in what is good. The Good that God offers is the only true Love available to us. We need the means to believe that God is in our lives and what others tell us is false. We need dauntlessness, because without this we will fail.

Through our faith, we continue to trust in the divine hand of friendship, forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption, offered so freely by God. We have the strength to speak against those who want to reverse what Jesus taught us. Madelyn Albright said that it took her a long time to develop a voice, and once she had it, she would not remain silent. We must do the same. If we allow others to speak for us, we will cede the ability, and the right, to deny how others view us.

All of us have the unity of spirit and of the Spirit; we must demonstrate our unity of Love for each other, the sympathy for others’ plights, and open our hearts to suffer with those affect by harsh words. I try to express my Love of others, not by saying that I love them; but by the way I treat all whom I meet, directed by the  Love that Jesus asked us to live by; the Love to Live by. This is not easy, and I am not perfect; but I do my best to treat all those I meet as if they are part of my family. And, in reality, all are.

I believe that God created each of us with a definite purpose in mind; but, it is up to us to first recognize, then live up to this purpose. His plan of Love is for all; unfortunately, some of us think we know better and try to change the plan, wanting to shape others’ views to match as we deem prudent; but, prudent by our means, not God’s. Those who do this get offended when we do not conform to their views; we are the ones who should be offended.

God wants our companionship; I think She would be very happy if we desired the same from our fellow human beings. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget this.

                      Early Morning Meditation

Is Jesus alive in us? A difficult question for those who care and for those who do not care. He lived and died over two thousand years ago. Or, did he? A multitude of words have been spoken, written, or just meditated on his existence, purpose, and, above all, reality.

Well, here goes. It doesn’t matter. Much of what comes to us in the Bible is from oral history, inaccurate translations from long-dead languages, and twisted interpretations made by some long-dead people with their own agendas. Do we really think that the words of the Bible and the interpretations come to us without the personal slant of those who wrote it or even preach it today? It would be naïve of us to think that every word written or spoken about the life of Jesus is 100% valid. It can’t be. Just look at the varied interpretations in the four gospels. And, if you really want to be confused, read some of the lost or forbidden gospels in print today, gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas, or the Gospel of Mary. Much of what is written in these is included in the synoptic gospels, but not all, and not with the same emphasis.

So, what does matter. Whether we take the body of the work in its total, or just a sliver of it, let’s say from the Gospel of Matthew, we can learn from it. One of my favorite lessons from Matthew is the Sermon on the Mount. There are two things that are very obvious to those of us who ponder meditatively on it. There was nobody their recording and transcribing the sermon. There were no teleprompters; the words came directly from the lips of Jesus to those in attendance. In addition, Jesus gave this sermon many times, not just once. He gave it so many times that one of his apostles, maybe Matthew, had memorized it, and later wrote it down. But I doubt that Matthew could write more than his name.

So, what can we take from this all-important sermon? What can we not take from it? I will not go down the list of blessed mentioned by Jesus. I have already raised too many hackles on the back of your necks by what I have already written. What we can take from it is the message. God loves all of us. We may be oppressed by those in power, but God comforts us and protects us and Loves us. All who suffer at the hands of the ignorant oppressors, are comforted and blessed by God. God welcomes us with open arms and asks nothing in return. How unselfish is that?

Jesus says toward the end of Matthew 5: Let your light shine before men to allow them to see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. I have meditated much on this simple sentence and have come away with a strong belief that if I, myself, treat people with respect, accept them as equals to myself, live them as I love myself; if I do this toward others, I am glorifying all that is good in this world. I am surpassing those greedy oppressors whose only existence to attain more, more riches on this earth. Only to lose them all upon their passing from this life into the next.

Jesus did not travel with the rich, the connected, the powerful; He traveled with the poor, the sick, the outcasts. His sermon was to introduce a better life, not a life of material wealth, because that life is short-lived at best. He offered a life that mattered.

I was (at times) a moderately successful businessman with good years and bad years; I was well-respected in my business community. I did not steal or abuse those around me and all who entered my business were treated with respect. I was miserable. Then tragedy struck. I was in a very serious, almost life-ending traffic accident and lost my business. After recovery, I returned to college and then began teaching. I began sharing myself with others who needed my talents. I was looking beyond my needs to the needs of my students. As I did with my customers, I treated all my students equally and with respect. I accepted them or who they were; I accepted them for how crude some of the young men were; I accepted them for how much sex was exuded from some of the young women. They were all in my care; in a word, they were all my children to be loved and respected and given the same opportunity.

In effect, without really thinking about it, or for that matter, without the in-depth meditative knowledge that I now possess, I was offering them the true message of the Sermon on the Mount. I was also letting my light shine on them to allow others to see the good works of God and glorifying His name. what I then called treating them fairly, I now see as following my interpretation of The Sermon.

So, let me return to my original question. It does not matter whether Jesus lived two thousand years ago. Although, I believe He did. What does matter is the lessons of his life. I don’t care what lens you view this lesson, whether it is from a Christian, Muslim, or Jewish viewpoint. The message is the same. I believe that by living the life I now live, treating others with love and respect, I am living the life that God wants.

Insufferable Times:

We are on the brink of a different world. One that has been approaching and may now be imminent. In one respect, this is both exciting and challenging, above all challenging. However, it is also fraught with indecision and trepidation. Ignorance and prejudice are invading our everyday lives to the point that for many seem to be acceptable and threateningly normal. These two elements are the midwives of disinformation. We must confront ignorance with knowledge and bigotry with tolerance and persistence. If not, control leaves our hands and is placed in the hands of those who are led by the vices of greed and self-worship. Racism and gender oppression can, will, and must be defeated. 

Compassion must lead the way, because it proclaims that the pain suffered by the oppressed is to be taken seriously and is not to be accepted as the norm. this oppression is not natural; it is perverted and unacceptable for humanity. We must open our ears, our hearts, listening for the word of God, following the voices that beckon us. May we rediscover our grace, preparing the way for all of God’s creatures to return to compassion and tenderness. Our world may not become Edenic, but we can produce a more tenderhearted world.

Let us be the light in the darkness that surrounds us. We must set aside logic, stop just thinking about it; just be God’s children; just imagine and recreate this old/new world. We might be surprised at what comes. Instead of searching for the light, let us be the light. The first president Bush restated Jesus’ words that we should be the city upon the hill, the light of the world. I believe that we can return to this vision.

We should pray for the grace to see this present world as it is, rather than as God originally created it. We should take up God’s words, accept his invitation to be true disciples, praying, trusting that God is making all things right . . . praying for God’s leadership and assistance.