Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify.
—Luke 21.9-13
Horror and anguish, casually voted on
and brought to the floor,
electricity to the bone,
blood on pavement and stainless steel,
grains of rice stashed in Wall Street banks,
water for the few, AIDS for the many,
used laborers, wrong color, hustled off in darkness
and more brought in,
the nervous sweat of the addict,
the crimes he’ll commit for the shaking needle
of oil, seas rising and raging, while
people build their beach houses….
It is not fantasy. It is the difficulty.
To not be shaped by terror.
To live differently than those about you.
To stand up to The Way It Is.
Do not be shaped by terror.
I will be in you,
my gentleness strengthening you,
my hope sharpening the sword
of your willingness. My peace
breathing in you.
In the fury, speak love,
and the world will change.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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