Like many of us, I was raised with the admonition, “If you can’t say
something nice, don’t say anything at all.” So I have been silent in this venue
for a bit. Being silent, however, can
sometimes be construed as giving silent agreement to words or actions that may
be unjust, harmful, or demeaning. How do we navigate this divisive time in our
world when it seems that it is now okay to say anything about anyone whether or
not it is true, helpful, or insightful?
This week I saw a video[1]
of Lady Gaga who, I am learning, speaks and acts from a deep center of faith
and commitment to justice. Along with the Dalai Lama, she talked of how
important it is for us to be “relentlessly kind.” Instead of “pointing fingers
at where we think the bad guys are,” we need to forget the labels and act out
of our common humanity with kindness.
This is not the same thing as allowing injustice or hatred to go
unchallenged. It does mean to remember that we are all children of God whether
we agree or not. As Willimon writes in Fear
of the Other, “The Other may be regarded by us as Other, but is never an
Other to God. The Other may be an enemy to the United States, but God is not an
enemy to the Other. The Other may hate us or God, but God loves the Other.”[2]
Where and how can I act with relentless kindness today, tomorrow, and
every day henceforth?
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O mortal, what
is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love
kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
No comments:
Post a Comment