Women's March 2018
Women's March 2018
Did you feel it as we were marching? Have you been feeling it for quite some time now, all of your life? The earth moving under your feet, the shaking of the foundations, what we used to call the bedrock of society. Today I want to lead you through a brief look at the big picture, because we are living through a historic, big-picture transition, affecting every aspect of human living.
2017 was the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther. For the last 50-60 or so years we have been and are continuing to live in and through another reformation: a revolutionary, evolutionary time, what Episcopal bishop Mark Dyer calls a semi-millennial rummage sale. Every 500 years or so, human beings seem to have a need to question and challenge, sometimes tear down, our structures and institutions—the way we do things—especially those that have become entrenched, so that new life and renewal may enter. In every age that has lived through this exciting, tumultuous transition, the big question that must be answered is “By what authority shall we live?”
In the Reformation, the answer was the five solas: sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli Deo Gloria: Only scripture, grace, faith, Christ, and glory to God were our authority. If you know anything about the authority of Roman Catholic Church in 1517 this was nothing short of an earthquake. In 1054, the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, the authority was either the Roman Catholic pope or the Patriarch of the Eastern Church. About 500 years before that, Pope Gregory the Great brought the Church out of the dark ages, along with Emperor Marcian who called the Council of Chalcedon. And before that, the Great Transformation, from BCE (Before the Common Era) to the Common Era, and a God who was the Creator of heaven and earth to a God who was incarnational in the person of Jesus. I’m not speaking of belief or religion but of the locus and shift of authority.
In every sector of Western society, and even globally, we can see entrenched and inflexible authority, structures, and institutions being questioned and challenged. While some have pipe dreams of building walls, many other walls that we raised are coming down, including the wall of silence. Yes, me too. The lines that we drew for the sake of identity and security became sources of power, restrictive to the point of pain, suffering, and injustice.
Some of these have their drawbacks and their benefits. All this shifting of authority and structure can leave us feeling like we’re walking on tectonic plates. We begin to wonder what is stable and what is not. Indeed, by what authority shall we live? Can anyone any longer tell you what to do? More and more, the answer to that question seems to be leading to each of us is our own authority but in covenant, in connection to meaningful community. Which means we need to do a better job of having faith in humanity, faith in one another; we need to do a better job of getting to know each other, on a level that leads to trust in one another, that one day we can forgive one another. And that scares the hell out of most of us. Perhaps we now understand why some folks are willing to sacrifice some freedom for familiarity, authoritarianism, and certainty; why violence seems like an answer; why hate and fear and judging others is easier.
The shift is coming and is happening now, but not without a hard struggle. This will require some pain and sacrifice on all our parts. We are birthing a world. We are evolving to a humanity with core values of radical inclusion, extravagant welcome, acceptance and diversity of personhood, equality, a just world for all people, and most of all, compassionate, connective community.
And so while we’re living through this time of flux and tumult, our focus needs to be, must be compassionate, connective community. One of my favorite prophets, Octavia Butler, wrote, “Kindness eases change”. This is not an easy world to live in, never has been, especially if you’re on the margins of it or you don’t want to be shoved back into a restrictive norm or box or closet or be used as an object. More than anything else, the world desperately needs kind, loving, forgiving, compassionate, justice-minded people. That’s why we’re here today. That’s who we are and what we need to work on. That’s the kind of community we can offer wherever we are.
Newark, DE
January 20, 2018
Did you feel it as we were marching? Have you been feeling it for quite some time now, all of your life? The earth moving under your feet, the shaking of the foundations, what we used to call the bedrock of society. Today I want to lead you through a brief look at the big picture, because we are living through a historic, big-picture transition, affecting every aspect of human living.
2017 was the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther. For the last 50-60 or so years we have been and are continuing to live in and through another reformation: a revolutionary, evolutionary time, what Episcopal bishop Mark Dyer calls a semi-millennial rummage sale. Every 500 years or so, human beings seem to have a need to question and challenge, sometimes tear down, our structures and institutions—the way we do things—especially those that have become entrenched, so that new life and renewal may enter. In every age that has lived through this exciting, tumultuous transition, the big question that must be answered is “By what authority shall we live?”
In the Reformation, the answer was the five solas: sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli Deo Gloria: Only scripture, grace, faith, Christ, and glory to God were our authority. If you know anything about the authority of Roman Catholic Church in 1517 this was nothing short of an earthquake. In 1054, the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, the authority was either the Roman Catholic pope or the Patriarch of the Eastern Church. About 500 years before that, Pope Gregory the Great brought the Church out of the dark ages, along with Emperor Marcian who called the Council of Chalcedon. And before that, the Great Transformation, from BCE (Before the Common Era) to the Common Era, and a God who was the Creator of heaven and earth to a God who was incarnational in the person of Jesus. I’m not speaking of belief or religion but of the locus and shift of authority.
In every sector of Western society, and even globally, we can see entrenched and inflexible authority, structures, and institutions being questioned and challenged. While some have pipe dreams of building walls, many other walls that we raised are coming down, including the wall of silence. Yes, me too. The lines that we drew for the sake of identity and security became sources of power, restrictive to the point of pain, suffering, and injustice.
But now we declare and affirm:
There is only one race, the human race—no lives will matter until black lives matter;
Gender is no longer defined by only male and female—no lives will matter until trans lives and non-binary lives matter;
Sexuality is no longer heteronormative—no lives will matter until queer lives matter;
Marriage is no longer defined as one man and one woman; family configurations are defined by love, not just by birth or by blood;
Education can take place in public, private, charter, and magnet schools, or at home or as an internship or apprenticeship;
One does not need to have experience to be elected to public office;
Information and communication are available to ever more of the earth’s population due to the internet;
Economies are global;
Health care is no longer as paternalistic, as the patient is often one of the care team;
People identify with more than one faith tradition or none at all and yet may still define themselves as spiritual or having a personal faith or philosophy.
Some of these have their drawbacks and their benefits. All this shifting of authority and structure can leave us feeling like we’re walking on tectonic plates. We begin to wonder what is stable and what is not. Indeed, by what authority shall we live? Can anyone any longer tell you what to do? More and more, the answer to that question seems to be leading to each of us is our own authority but in covenant, in connection to meaningful community. Which means we need to do a better job of having faith in humanity, faith in one another; we need to do a better job of getting to know each other, on a level that leads to trust in one another, that one day we can forgive one another. And that scares the hell out of most of us. Perhaps we now understand why some folks are willing to sacrifice some freedom for familiarity, authoritarianism, and certainty; why violence seems like an answer; why hate and fear and judging others is easier.
The shift is coming and is happening now, but not without a hard struggle. This will require some pain and sacrifice on all our parts. We are birthing a world. We are evolving to a humanity with core values of radical inclusion, extravagant welcome, acceptance and diversity of personhood, equality, a just world for all people, and most of all, compassionate, connective community.
And so while we’re living through this time of flux and tumult, our focus needs to be, must be compassionate, connective community. One of my favorite prophets, Octavia Butler, wrote, “Kindness eases change”. This is not an easy world to live in, never has been, especially if you’re on the margins of it or you don’t want to be shoved back into a restrictive norm or box or closet or be used as an object. More than anything else, the world desperately needs kind, loving, forgiving, compassionate, justice-minded people. That’s why we’re here today. That’s who we are and what we need to work on. That’s the kind of community we can offer wherever we are.
Fear thrives on division.
Love dares to understand.
Humanity is our tribe.
Comments
Post a Comment