SIGNS OF HOPE

Sometimes, when we are vulnerable and our eyes see, we discover gifts that opens our heart to hope. Saturday morning Deb and I went to our church in downtown Indianapolis to deliver some invitations to guests of our food bank. The  invitation was for our Easter morning breakfast which many of our friends from the street share with us.

As I stood and chatted with some of our hosts and some of our guests, I was reminded why I believe deeply in the church. There were 75 people shopping at our produce tables which had been supplied by Indianapolis Fruit (thanks to Deb's son, Collin Miller, who helped us connect with that wonderful resource for feeding the hungry). They then went into the market and shopped for canned goods that had been provided by members of Central and the Gleaners Food Bank. People come to the church for all kinds of nourishment.

And gathered with our guests were 20 adults and children who hosted the gathering, helping, visiting, providing coffee and cake while an orderly process of shopping was followed. While some waited, they went into the Thrift Shop where many purchased essential items of clothing for a small fee. Throughout the lower level of the church, ministry and community was happening.

Now I am not naive. I know that this is simply a small bandage on the wounds of our society where more people live on the edge of existence while a few expand their wealth beyond any description of decency. I know that a more just system of sharing the world's resource is absolutely essential not only for the survival of civilization but also for the fulfilling of God's desire for shalom. (And I have to say that I am glad that I am part of a congregation where people are gathering to act for justice for janitors, for those who need reliable public transit, for those who are excluded by laws from marrying the people they love.)

But, in the interim time before a more just society can emerge, I am glad to be part of community who does what we can to keep people from falling off the edge. My heart ached with hope as I shared that Saturday morning communion. I am thankful for small signs of God's love that I get to see.

STARTING THE DAY

The other day I challenged the frigid cold and went out to get the morning paper.  Headlines were related to a new effort of the state legislature in Indiana to move forward a resolution that would allow state citizens to vote on an amendment to the state constitution that would deny people to legally to commit themselves to each other because they are gay.

I handed the paper to Deb and said, "I'll take the sports page.  I don't want to start my day angry."  I get very angry when I think of people being denied the right to protect their rights to life, liberty and happiness. People I love are committed to persons of the same sex. They are committed to love and fidelity and are working hard to raise their children to be loving and caring humans. It makes me angry that some of them are denied access to their loved ones when they are hospitalized.  It angers me that they don't have the economic benefit that I do as a married tax payer.  It angers me that they are discriminated against because they love someone else.

As I sat down to read the sports section, I wondered about my anger. I know that anger is related to loss. I know that anger is a response to threat. It is the body's way of generating energy to fight that which threatens us or gives us the energy to flee the danger.  What am afraid I am losing?

If this passes and becomes a part of the constitution of this state, I will lose my belief that justice and equality are truly part of the fabric of our society.  People I love will lose hope for the right to be legally protected against discrimination. Family and friends will lose their right to love and be loved the way they want.  The loss of freedom of any threatens the freedom of all. When the rights of the minority are not protected, my rights of all are threatened. I lose hope that the world I leave for my grandchildren will be a far less hospitable place for them and their friends.

What do we do with anger?  We use the energy not to attack and to kill, but to be politically active to influence the legislature to act with compassion and justice for all people.  We use it to support those organizations who work tirelessly for the rights of all humans. I want warm love and merciful justice to be the governing values that shape the world my grandchlldren inherit. Listening to  my anger is an important act of love.