“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said that in 1964. Dr. King was paraphrasing abolitionist minister Theodore Parker from 1853. That phrase has been used many times since by many people. Today it is my prayer.
I believe it not because my faith is in the morality of people. I know this because my faith rests in God and God’s vision for all humanity, all creation.
We sit on one sliver of the arc. We can look back and see the slope from which we came. It is long with a slow rise. Looking forward is only done with the eyes of faith…especially as we sit on this sliver where justice feels so tenuous.
Four years ago today, I bought pink champagne for my friends so we could all toast to the first woman president on election night. This year I am holding my breath. We have learned the hard way that the election is about more than one person. It is about our place on the arc of the moral universe.
Yesterday on All Saints Sunday, I preached on the Beatitudes from the gospel of Matthew. They are a comfort, reminding us of our blessedness. They also are a call to action. We are called to participate in what God is doing in the world. We comfort, advocate, work for peace, show mercy and honor each other’s blessedness. Full stop.
We are called to difficult work and it is our work to do no matter who is elected on November 3rd. I pray that the experiment of the last four years – electing a celebrity with no public service experience – will end. No matter the outcome, we have been blessed so that we may do our work on this sliver of the arc of the moral universe.
~ Pam
I believe it not because my faith is in the morality of people. I know this because my faith rests in God and God’s vision for all humanity, all creation.
We sit on one sliver of the arc. We can look back and see the slope from which we came. It is long with a slow rise. Looking forward is only done with the eyes of faith…especially as we sit on this sliver where justice feels so tenuous.
Four years ago today, I bought pink champagne for my friends so we could all toast to the first woman president on election night. This year I am holding my breath. We have learned the hard way that the election is about more than one person. It is about our place on the arc of the moral universe.
Yesterday on All Saints Sunday, I preached on the Beatitudes from the gospel of Matthew. They are a comfort, reminding us of our blessedness. They also are a call to action. We are called to participate in what God is doing in the world. We comfort, advocate, work for peace, show mercy and honor each other’s blessedness. Full stop.
We are called to difficult work and it is our work to do no matter who is elected on November 3rd. I pray that the experiment of the last four years – electing a celebrity with no public service experience – will end. No matter the outcome, we have been blessed so that we may do our work on this sliver of the arc of the moral universe.
~ Pam
