Undated photo of a sunrise over the cross at Byrne Chapel. Beckwith Camp and Conference Center, Fairhope , Alabama. Photo by The Pensacola Hippie.
"...where there is darkness, let me sow light..."
On this day, two years ago, eleven souls were gunned down while worshipping in their Pittsburgh synagogue. I was in Panama City, Florida on the second of two work trips to aid in cleanup after Hurricane Michael devastated that area.
It was a dark day for our nation, but as someone with European Jewish ancestry*** and*** s someone who grew up in the Pittsburgh area, this is an especially dark day. Never in my lifetime hd I or did I expect to see people murdered for simply being Jewish.
Two years later I still recall that day like it happened only last week. I'd opened Facebook on my phone to post some photos of the beautiful church sanctuary light when I saw " Prayers for Pittsburgh" from several people. Startled and curious, I opened the CNN News App on my phone and read about the shooting in a familiar Pittsburgh neighborhood.
Stunned, I sat on the piano bench & cried.
I'm mindful of the others who've cried at the news of race or ethnicity-based violence at a place of worship. Buildings where people gather to worship are supposed to be safe places. Yet darkness, in the form of one human with hate in his heart, found its way into a light-bearing community of Pittsburghers.
Two years later, we've seen more racially-based violence than we've seen in my entire lifetime. The dark forces that surround us are hidden in plain sight. When the darkness feels emboldened, it snuffs out the light.
Ask anyone who knows me, I'm not a fan of darkness. As the number of daylight hours dwindles as winter approaches the Northern Hemisphere, I find myself adversely affected by literal darker days. My physical/emotional and spiritual health is good while basking in light.
As a Christian, I do my best to BE that Light that this broken world needs so much. Yet this calendar years has thrown many of us ' off our game'. It is hard to bring that Light to others when a pandemic prohibits even the most casual human touch between people outside of one's household.
Many of us are socializing primarily-- o entirely-- online. nd while technology is a blessing during these times, the human soul and mind can only endure so much ZOOMing and other virtual events. Since we are forced to maintain distance between us right now-- the aloneness that many of us feel only feeds more darkness.
So what can we do to bring Light into darkness?
We can think of how our own choices affect others-- we can look at a person who is radically different from ourselves and see them as a Beloved Creation of the Creator. Especially, if we disagree with them in any way , we need to see their humanity and hope they see ours.
Those of us with privilege can and absolutely SHOULD check our assumptions at the door wen we enter spaces occupied by minority groups. For instance, while I am proud of my Jewish heritage, I am also mindful that I was not raised Jewish. In The USA, being a Christian of any stripe gives one privilege . Own it. I do. I'm a cis-gendered woman married to a man, so I check my privilege at that door & listen to the needs and fears of people I know and love who are in same-gender relationships & marriages.
We can do better { all of us} to live more sustainably. We were gifted this great Earth , and the selfishness of humans over time has left her wounded and in pain. We know now that certain practices help to heal our Earth and other well-loved ways further harm our planet. Humans are not alone on the Earth, and we can work to bring Light to other creatures and geologic features of our one home planet.
Carry that Light.
Amen.
~Sarah
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