trees, part 2

Last week I mused that our political involvement should be as trees planted by living water…so what is living water?  Jesus said to the woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”  (John 4:10) Living water is moving water, potable water, the opposite of stagnant, toxic water.  

Jesus goes on to say in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me…rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  If we, as the people of God, are flowing with living water we will look at broken systems of government and say “This must change…This needs some living water applied to its roots.  Living water people should be supporting a government of kindness, grace and justice for ALL.  When we see government sanctioned oppression, living water people should stand against it.  

I don’t see enough Christians speaking out about injustice, about concern for immigrants and prisoners, or understanding, let alone condemning systemic racism. And the rhetoric is anything but kind.  Why is that? Again, I go to Rev. Timothy Keller:

     “Faith is often subordinated to partisan politics and political ideology…Too
     many Christians are characterized by their tribal commitments, rather than
     an understanding of justice...Evangelical strategies are about power
     and saying, 'How are we going to use power to live life the way we want?'
     They're not enough about service; they're not enough about serving the
     common good."

People of faith can disagree on strategies for how to achieve the lofty goals of the common good, but we should have the same goals:  THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO FLOURISH. 

So, what does this have to do with trees?  Theologian Kristen Deede Johnson writes in her essay in “Uncommon Ground:  Living Faithfully in a World of Difference”:

     “Trees are known for their capacity to take the potentially harmful gases
     surrounding them and offer life-giving oxygen to the world...NOT ONLY TO
     THEIR OWN KIND; they improve air quality for EVERYONE."

In other words, our approach should be to be the most Christ-like in our willingness to disadvantage ourselves for the advantage of others.

Please think about what it will take to clear the toxicity of the current climate and spread life-giving civility and peace to this broken and broken-hearted world.   We can participate in clearing the air with our vote in November.  We can vote for justice for all, vote for our brighter angels.  Be a tree.

Humbly yours, 

Liz

“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’  ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

                                                                        Revelation 7:17

To see Rev. Keller speak about corporate evil and cultural myopia, please click on:
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhJJcTKTVGo

(One of my friends called this “a beautiful 26 minutes of my life”!)

Here are other quotes that have inspired me to live like a tree during this election cycle:  

“I often wonder what Christians in the United States will need to leave behind in order to embrace the adventure God has before us.  I wonder what God might be stripping away so we can cling, desperately and helplessly, only to him.  How does the longing for power, privilege and position freeze us in place?  How do our financial resources… and cultural arrogance insulate us from an honest encounter with God and with the world?”
                                                                        Tom Lin, President of InterVarsity

“God is the builder, we are the stones…When we become part of this spiritual sanctuary we are then able to seriously address God’s call to justice, restoration, reconciliation and relationship…We cannot see the killing of African-American men and women, boys and girls and still turn away thinking that this is not our problem…their deaths diminish us and the world God is trying to build.”                     Rev. Jennifer McCleery

“Take time to weep…attach yourself to the poor, because that’s what God did for us.”
                                                                        Rev. Brannin Pitre

“You do not love by giving your neighbor a right.  You give the poor man or the black man a right and you feel you have done your duty to him.  You may even feel that he owes you a debt of gratitude.  But if you had loved him to begin with, the question of right would never have arisen…when you give a man a right, it is too easy to forget to love him.”  
                                                                        Stephen L. Carter                                                       

“Our footsteps do not follow Your path of peace; our words do not reflect Your Word, and so we speak exclusion and division…Put Your love on us.” 
                                                                        Rev. Marc Choi

“We are the hollow men…
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rat's feet over broken glass..."                  T.S. Eliot

“The thing about broken glass is it’s hard to see…Just like broken glass, racism can be hard to see in ourselves but still draw blood on impact.  We are in a phase of sweeping up the glass in this country.  We are recognizing that the work some of us thought was done, hasn’t been completed.  There are still shards of hurt hiding in the world, hardest for privileged eyes to see.”                                                                    Meredith Barnes
                                                                  www.frecklesandfortitude.com 

“The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals—to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights.”                                                                President George W. Bush

 “America is no fairy tale. It’s been a constant push and pull between the two parts of our character, the idea that all men and women—all people—are created equal, and the racism that has torn us apart.  We have a chance now to give the marginalized, the demonized, the isolated, the oppressed, a full share of the American dream.” 
                                                                            Vice-President Joe Biden

“The advice of medical experts shouldn’t be politicized…It’s not worth following a president who has no remorse for leading his followers to an early grave.” 
                                       Caroline Gohmert, daughter of Texas Representative Louie Gohmert

“Presidents, exploiting modern communications technologies…can set the tone of American society…this weak person’s idea of a strong person, this chest-pounding advertisement of his own gnawing insecurities, this low-rent Lear raging on his Twitter-heath has proven that the phrase malignant buffoon is not an oxymoron.”
                                                                           George Will

“We need a president who instead of holding up a Bible will heed its words.”
                                                                           Sen. Amy Klobuchar