November 22, 2024

My mom shared a poem with me this week that I'll share with you, below. She said it reminded her of last week's Gospel text. That passage was Mark 13:1-8, where Jesus said in order to usher in the world God dreams for us - a world of equity, connection, and care for one another -  the great buildings we see around us must tumble. "Not one stone will be left here upon another" and then "This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."

Though the people of Jesus' time did see the great Temple fall into rubble around them, the imagery of "old buildings" tumbling is a metaphor for the dismantling of systems and structures of human hands that don't result in loving our neighbors as ourselves. Passages like this ask us to think about what needs to crumble around us, to make way for God's dream for the world?

The question is intriguing. And scary. The systems we have now do not all serve all of us well, but they are the systems we know. And sometimes, consciously or not, we choose the devil we know. But the poem my mom shared inspires me to work on setting aside fear about "the birthpages" of change:

WHEN THE EARTH SHAKES - Chelan Harkin

It’s when the earth shakes
And foundations crumble
That our light is called
To rise up.
It’s when everything falls away
And shakes us to the core
And awakens all
Of our hidden ghosts
That we dig deeper to find
Once inaccessible strength.
It’s in times when division is fierce
That we must reach for each other
And hold each other much
Much tighter.
Do not fall away now.
This is the time to rise.
Your light is being summoned.
Your integrity is being tested
That it may stand more tall.
When everything collapses
We must find within us
That which is indomitable.
Rise, and find the strength in your heart.
Rise, and find the strength in each other
Burn through your devastation,
Make it your fuel.
Bring forth your light.
Now is not the time
To be afraid of the dark.

My prayer for you this week is not to be afraid of the dark, because God is in it with you. My prayer for you this week is that you feel yourself rising to meet any challenge, because God is in it with you. My prayer for us this week is that we reach for each other with care in the middle of the tumbling of old buildings, because God is in it with us.