He holds your life in his hand

Daniel 5:23 But you treat with contempt the living God who holds your entire life from birth to death in his hand.

This is the famous incident of the "writing on the wall." Drunken King Belshazzar of Babylon has called in the sacred vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had brought back, and is eating and drinking off them as if they are ordinary plates. The words written on the wall pronounce his doom.

Do we honor the sacred in our lives? The presence of God as it exists in every human being is one place I see the sacred. We can respect each person and listen to understand his or her truth, whether we agree or disagree with a particular point of view. We know what it is like to be treated with hostility or contempt, to be intimidated, demeaned and ignored. The Torah says, "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you." This kind of treatment denies the sacred in every living human. Jesus said, "Do not return evil for evil." So even when we are treated in contemptuous ways, we are called not to respond in kind. Desmond Tutu told of spending hours prostrate on the floor praying to God because he could feel the hatred beginning to grow in his heart for all those who had oppressed his people.. He could not take one step without clearing his heart of anger or it would taint all that he was trying to accomplish. That's a pretty high standard, but a good example. I found myself in a situation recently where I was treated with hostility, intimidation tactics and a dismissive attitude. As my mind continues to walk through ways of getting one-up on them (in a good Christian way, of course!) it is clear my heart is troubled. I need to clear my heart, like Desmond Tutu did, before I make a move.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the clarity with which you have shown me my path. Cleanse my heart of all the effects of this event so that I may once again be present to the sacred in all people. Amen

The righteous will stand

Wisdom of Solomon 5:1 Then the righteous will stand with great confidence in the presence of those who have oppressed them and those who make light of their labors.

People want to be seen. People want their pain to be acknowledged, especially by those who may have caused it. The hardest thing for victims of childhood abuse is when that abuse is never acknowledged, or when it is minimized, or rationalized away with "it wasn't so bad". I think it is often that lack of recognition that encourages people to hold on to their victimization, simply in an effort to make it visible. Here, in this description of the last days, the final judgment, those who have been oppressed are finally being seen clearly by those who have denied what has happened. That is part of the great liberation described here.

I got such a wonderful image out of this. I saw crowds of people, those who had been abused as children, especially those who had been molested and told it was their fault, standing in the sunshine, robes bright with light, while those who had molested them and not taken responsibility for it lay below, enveloped in shadow. I thought of the farm laborers who wanted decent pay standing with them, and the CEO's who refused them that extra penny per pound of tomatoes, while living in luxury, huddling beneath. There are so many more possibilities, and you can probably come up with some of your own: women abused by their husbands; minority youth who are treated like criminals at every turn, so they become criminals; victims of crime, oppression, war, genocide -- all standing strong and proud in the face of those who have inflicted such pain and humiliation on them. There are probably many who belong in both groups -- the victims who grow up to be victimizers, or who, in their desire for revenge, become worse than those who initially victimized them, living out the endless cycle of violence and retribution.


But as I look into the faces of those who hover in the shadows, witnessing their reversal of fortune, the triumph of their victims, I have a secret hope, that in that moment they see the truth of their own wrongdoing. I imagine their hearts opening, and repentance blossoming as they see their victims with new eyes, as beloved, entitled children of God, not there to fulfill the victimizer's selfish purposes but to stand as witnesses to the grace that endures suffering and is not taken over by it. That is the radical message of Jesus. Love your enemy means to stand apart from that desire for revenge, that desire to get back at someone for what they have done to you, to break that cycle of violence and retribution that is passed back and forth between peoples and down through the generations. It is a commitment to continue to live life in the fullest way possible, guided by compassion, and not to allow bitterness and anger to restrict the soul in its passage. For that is what is seen in the eyes of those in the light: compassion, openness and joy, the commitment to reject the constricted role of victim and partake of the blessings God offers through forgiveness and surrender to His Will.

A pipe dream? Maybe so, but one I feel called to live in my own little way, and a vision of reconciliation that we have already seen lived out in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Will we ever get rid of violence and oppression? No, probably not. But we can still build on this radical message of Jesus to make things better even in our flawed and chaotic world.

Prayer: Dear God, I have been so fortunate in my life not to fall prey to violence and oppression, but my very privilege can invite me into the oppression of others without knowing it. Wherever I feel a victim, let me open my heart in compassion and forgiveness towards those who harm me. And keep me ever mindful of those that I am in a position to victimize, that I may be aware of any suffering I cause and be called to recognize and redress it. Amen.

We'll be your slaves

Genesis 50:18 Then the brothers went in person to him, threw themselves on the ground before him and said, “We’ll be your slaves.”

Joseph’s brothers are haunted by what they did to him. Now that their father, Israel, is dead, they worry that Joseph will finally take his revenge. They have a hard time believing that he can really forgive them – would they, in his place, forgive such an act as selling your own brother into slavery? Their offer to become his slave is an attempt to right the wrong in a tit for tat way: we enslaved you, so you enslave us. While it demonstrates genuine remorse and a desire to redress the imbalance, Joseph responds with mercy and generosity. He is not God, to judge them. And he reminds them of all the good that God brought out of their evil intentions. He weeps at their expression of regret, and convinces them of the truth of his forgiveness.

This passage speaks to me in two ways. First is the recognition that the evil we do haunts us, lives with us, distorts our presence in the world; it will hold on to us long after others have forgiven us. Today we might say that the brothers need to forgive themselves for what they did. And the second thought is the mercy and compassion that Joseph models to them. He sees the wider picture. Because of his steadfast faith, he understands that God is working through him to advance God’s purposes, even when that seems most unlikely. Out of that understanding, that great blessing has come out of the adversity Joseph has faced, comes true forgiveness of his brothers, a generosity of spirit untouched by bitterness and reproach. He truly harbors no remnant of recrimination, no hidden resentment, because he has been able to walk with God through the difficult times and see the flowering of God’s favor now that they have come to an end. Can I say the same thing about myself?

Prayer: Dear God, Cleanse from me any touch of bitterness or resentment about past wrongs others may have done to me. Let me look to the life to which you lead me unhindered by regrets about the past, that I may experience the full, rich life you have planned for me. Amen.