80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer - week 2
80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer - week 2
To the God who shows us how that which leaves our mouth makes us clean or unclean, let only your love and compassion flow from me.
When I am frustrated, bring me calm
When I am hurt, do not let me harm another
When I hear hateful speech, let me come to the defense of the wronged person using your language of love and teaching instead of hurling more vileness in the air.
Bring me awareness of my impact on others that I may learn my blindspots.
Teach me, O God, your Kindness, which is loving awareness
Teach me, O God, your Compassion, which is empathy
Teach me, O God, your Justice, which is uplifting of the oppressed
Teach me, O God, your Civility, which allows for disagreement with respect and without rancor.
Your way, God, is never easy, but it is right. Let me be an ambassador of your kin-dom where we know how we are connected one to another, all part of your family.
This is my pledge: that I may showcase your lovingkindness, that I embody your compassion, that I engage with civility when disagreements abound, and that I act with your justice, supporting your people who need to know they are not alone. When I falter, O Mercy, sent the Canaanite Woman to me in the guise I need to see most, that I may be cleansed of my error and return to my pledge. Amen
Today is the twelfth day from when I first issued the call to the 80-day Kindness challenge. I can say that so far the biggest concrete take-away lesson from the challenge for me has been to be aware of my awareness of my responses to situational stimuli. The corollary is the lesson to listen more, to absorb the hurt and pain that people around me express and use that to shape my understanding of this world, to see the impact of world events from a world-view that is not the one I have been shaped to see through. It has been twelve days of prayer as I have worked hard to check my instinctive reactions and seek guidance for how God is working in this world.
Through the fires and floods and earthquakes and hurricanes, through each new disaster projected in high-definition infotainment, I have been aware of one theme: in a world divided and heartbroken, God is working for change. It seems as if God has declared in some cosmic way "Enough, No More", but the change is painful. Reviewing the history of our faith, even the ancient laws in the Torah codify an astounding number of rights granted to people who would typically be marginalized in ancient cultures. While our holy text certainly at times glorifies war and destruction, uses language of victory and defeat, and even showcases oppressive situations, the overriding theme throughout the text is unbinding the oppressed, lifting up the downtrodden, and that those who have been first in human society - rulers, politicians, unscrupulous wealthy persons - are last in God's estimation. Throughout the Old and New Testaments are stories of painful growth and painful suppression. The beauty is that God always shows those who are experiencing oppression the way to liberation.
God does not forget about any person in creation. We believe that God cares for each blade of grass, keeps watch over the each bird; of course God cares for each of us personally. God also cares for each person corporately, and right now we need to support our black and brown sisters and brothers, as we are called to do.
Action: This week is the Presbyterian Week of Action for Black Lives Matter. Follow this link to see what PCUSA is doing nationally, the history and theology behind the movement, and what you can do to be part of the conversation.
I love you all
Stay Safe and Healthy
Wash Your Hands
Peace be with you
~Rev. Andrea Joy Holroyd
