Look at this, y’all. Look at this! One Big Beautiful Bill, it’s being called. I don’t know, is it beautiful? Cutting programs for the poor to pass on tax cuts to the rich. Is any of this beautiful? Grabbing folks off the streets, out of restaurants, out of their apartments and cars, and out of hospital beds with ICE behaving like the Gestapo. Pretending to be supporting Gazans with food but shooting them as they gather to collect limited resources for their families. Raping and pillaging places like Congo and Sudan and watching as they implode. Pretending Ukraine invaded Russia. Unhinged policing, rolling back human rights for BIPOC, queer people, women and immigrants? An unholy cycle of violence against Jews and against Muslims — in the Holy Land and across the globe — all in the name of religion and land.
I’m baffled, I’m bewildered, I’m devastated, I’m disappointed. I think, if I can say this with a little tang, I’m kind of “po’d”
Who are we? I’m not going to suggest this is new, because it is not. But is it who we want to be? When our children’s children grow up and ask about this time, what will they say about us, about our silence, about our fear, about our willingness to surrender to fascism?
There are more of us — good people who want a better way — than the selfish folks with little imagination. So, what are good people of courage, vision, and faith-in-love going to do about it?
I’m a Christian clergy, and I know it is my job to love the stranger. To care for the outsider, to love my neighbor as myself. It’s my job to stand for the rights of all the people who are in war-torn lands, all struggling from genocidal policies. It’s my job to demand that this nation, which is not Christian to be sure, is guided by a public ethic of love, by respect, by understanding, by kindness. The only way to wake ourselves up from this nightmare of cruelty, hoarding, and violence is to open our eyes wide to our shared humanity and live as though our thriving is intertwined.
Together, we can take a deep breath and lean into a future in which all the people matter, everyone has enough, and the planet and creatures breathe with us. That’s God’s dream, in my humble opinion. And I am supposed to be loud about it.
Jesus was loud about it. He had a Temple Tantrum about it. He died to stand up for an abundant and flourishing life for all of humanity. He advocated healing, teaching, preaching, and welcoming for all folks. That is what love looks like.
And as Brother Cornell West says, justice is what love looks like in public.
No matter your faith walk, even if you are agnostic or atheist: To be human on the planet, love is to share responsibility for making the planet better. Here are a few things we can do:
1.) Share good news when you see it and hear it. Good news begets good news.
a. Share this amazing Easter Worship at Middle Church. It will warm your heart, I promise.
2.) Call your electeds and say, “Here is what I think….” And say what you think, in all the spaces and places you can, with respect.
White House contact information:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TTD for Comments: 202-456-6213
3.) Ask your family and friends what they think. Have conversations that build connections. Use your compassion and listening skills to heal the world.
4.) Donate to places that share your values. Donate to mutual aid, to artists, to justice organizations or to non-profits doing the work of justice, spirituality and the arts.
a. You can donate to Middle here.
5.) Pray, meditate, take time for some spiritual practice. Center yourself in joy and silence when you can.
6.) Love hard — all the people — and yourself, too.
In solidarity,
Jacqui
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is senior minister and public theologian at Middle Church in New York. Celebrated internationally for her dynamic preaching and commitment to justice, she champions racial equality, economic justice and LGBTQIA+/gender rights. Featured on MSNBC, PBS, NBC, CBS and NPR, she is the author of several books, including “Fierce Love” and the “Just Love Story Bible.” Countless individuals and communities have been inspired by Lewis’ transformative work on her podcast, “Love Period;” in columns and articles; and on stages, in churches, on the street and in digital spaces around the globe.