At the Table

come on... let me fully participate already

Photo by Valentina Fischer on Unsplash

Friends,

This post is not my usual contemplative writing…. or is it? Being contemplative is getting in touch with the basic raw feelings in your body and heart. Feelings are not always joyful or peaceful. Being in the moment of honest feelings is powerful and can move you to action. I emphasize action because Jesus was not just compassionate. He acted on his compassion. Today I am feeling how so many have felt for decades…. anger at rules in denominations that profess inclusion. They say everyone is welcome BUT… Really?? I don’t think I have read in the Bible where Jesus kept someone from the table, including Judas and Peter, because of red tape, rules of participation, meeting certain qualifications. Maybe you have felt less than because of the language you use, or the way you are dressed, or the color of your skin, or the pronouns you use? Maybe you are afraid that your beliefs will be disapproved of if you speak them?

What kind of litmus test do you feel you must pass in order to be more close to Spirit? How do you sense others, unwittingly or not, hinder those who want to participate? There is room for EVERYONE at the table. Full stop. Period. Don’t let anyone keep you in a box. Claim your seat and welcome the person beside you because just maybe they have something to share that could lighten a new path on your spiritual journey. Don’t let rules and litmus tests keep you from holy ground, you belong.

Yours in resistance,

Jace

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I'm Not Saying We Shouldn't Be Angry

I’m not saying we shouldn’t be angry.

Anger seems reasonable. But perhaps

we will do what I’ve heard the Inuit do—

spend the emotion on walking, walk a line

until all the anger has left our bodies.

The moment the Inuit notice the anger is gone,

replaced, perhaps, by sadness or fear,

compassion or just a quietness,

they mark that spot with an object

to show the extent of their anger.

And perhaps, if we’re lucky, when we walk

this way, it will be a long enough walk

that we arrive at each other’s doors,

object in hand, and when the object

leaves our grip, we’ll be able to use our hands

to greet each other, touch each other’s faces,

point to the horizon to all the other places

we might choose to walk now together.

Rosemerry Wathola Trommer

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