A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever-present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent. John P. Kotter
Meditation: As several hurricanes are approaching our land, all of us are on high alert. While those in the path of the storms probably flee with much anxiety, others around them are getting ready to receive them as they become displaced refugees. After months of much political divisions, months where the worst of humanity has been coming out in toxic political “isms” dividing the land, suddenly parts of our land are literally being wiped away. And so, in these urgent times of dire need, we witness the best in humanity coming out. Neighbors helping neighbors, people with boats heading towards disaster areas. Our different ethnicities and backgrounds… we are reminded: we are all the same. This is about saving human lives, no matter who we are. I wonder how this urgency, this absence of complacency might wipe away and even heal some of the toxic political landscape from before? Will these disasters help remind us that ultimately we are one people and one nation under God, including the refugees and the strangers among us – now that many Americans experience becoming refugees themselves?
Prayer: God, in a time when all of us feel utterly awake, remind us that we are not utterly alone. We continue to pray for the people in Texas. We pray for those living on the devastated Islands and tomorrow for Florida, hit by the largest hurricane in decades. Our hearts reach out to all families fleeing or standing in front of their dilapidated houses or facing that nothing is left. We pray for lasting healing impact on the people living in Texas who suddenly realize that they desperately need the so-called “illegal immigrants” to help them rebuild their homes. Help us remember that we are all neighbors of each other. In the midst of these urgent times, change our country, change our hearts. Amen
Love works no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the law’s fulfillment. You know the time. It is the hour for you to awake from sleep. Romans 13: 10-11a
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