A Devotion for Sacred Resistance

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

These words from 2 Corinthians have been echoing through my mind as I watch and listen to the horrific news of families separated at the US/Mexico border. Children sleep in cages and I cling to these words – but God, where is their freedom? Our eyes fill with tears and we pray, God, send them Your Spirit.

Hear me clearly, this is not a partisan issue. This is not a message of who to align with or pointing fingers at one side or another.

The immigration crisis and our country’s pathetic response is not the only place of pain in the world this week. But it has captured our hearts and minds because at the center of this crisis are society’s most vulnerable and in need of care. All political parties have gotten this wrong. We have all failed people, we have failed families, and we have failed our children.

When we hear of the great suffering around the world and in our own country, I understand the desire to retreat – to close our ears and eyes because we cannot take any more pain. To turn off the news, shut down the conversation, and ultimately become numb to the seemingly endless onslaught of heart-wrenching news.

It happens when we turn on the news, or when we visit yet another client whose story rends our heart and heavies our soul.

But friends, do not let the pain of the world numb you into sleep. Your awakeness is what the world needs, even now, especially now.

I often have people ask me, “How do you respond when there’s so much tragedy in the world? What is the faithful response when it seems like trauma and brokenness and injustice seem to prevail?”

Along with spiritual practices like prayer, worship, and remaining rooted in Scripture and community, I believe there are many different ways to respond faithfully. For some, it might be peaceful protest or writing electing officials; for others, it may be giving monetarily or physical to organizations that work for justice; for still others, it may be working with and for groups that promote advocacy for particular groups like LGBTQ youth or immigrant families.

(If you are interested, here are a few ways that the UMC works for justice that you can join/respond with: Justice for Our Neighbors, a list of advocacy issues to contact your elected officials about, and the Methodist Federation for Social Action.)

All of these practices remain grounded in one simple, but powerful idea:

“Rewrite the narrative. Tell a different story.”

If the story the world tells is one of scarcity, violence and pain, make your life tell a story of abundance, welcome, inclusion, radical hospitality, and compassion. In doing these things, we resist the story that leads to death and instead create an alternative narrative – we participate in holy resistance.

A beloved pastor of mine, Jim Harnish wrote this week: “For me, sacred resistance is standing with and for everyone and everything that is consistent with Jesus’ vision of the Kingdom of God, coming on earth as it is in heaven, while standing against anyone or anything that undermines or contradicts that vision.”

One of my favorite poems is by Wendell Berry. It’s titled “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” and in it, Berry (a farmer himself), calls the reader to acts of resistance that are in direct opposition to the sense of the world.

He writes:

“So, friends, every day do something that won't compute.

Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing.

Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.”

The Gospel, the good news in Christ Jesus, is a radical rewriting of what the world says is foolish: to respond to pain and hatred and with abundant love; to love someone who does not deserve it. To plant seeds that we will not see the fruit of.

Friends, our very work of disaster recovery and response is a sacred practice of resistance. It is a different story. It is dreaming with God and with people about what is possible. It is a response to the world of brokenness, pain and trauma and an alternative story to the narrative that says we can live without each other, that money is king, and that destruction and death have the final say. You are holy resistors – telling a new story in places of pain and hurt.

God is with you and for you. Practice resurrection.

With you,

Chaplain Amy