January 6 One Year Later

 Last night I watched a special on the year university of January 6, 2021.  It was informative and at times moving.

Some spoke about a nation that began with a vision of a people who could live in freedom and walk, talk, think and as they chose.

 A nation, of people, working together for the betterment of a free nation.

I heard, from a panel of politicians who were in that chamber room on that terrible day.  They spoke of seeing some who were fearful, of their own live, praying to survive whatever was going outside the walls that surrounded them.  

And how those same people now dismiss the action of the rioters. 

I heard of the hope of a nation’s majority who were “good people” concerned about our democracies future.

One of the conversations was clear that the people of the Unite States saw, with their own eyes, what was happening to the Capitol that day.  

It was wide open for all to see the hate and fury of a tribe of unmanageable people.

Yes, there was a lot of politics involved in the special I am sure.  

However there was also a dream.  A dream that things will be better.

And I thought of Jesus.

I thought about when Jesus was about to leave this physical world he taught his disciples the most critical of lessons: 

He wash their feet.

And then he gave a new commandment to love.  

That is he taught them of humility and kindness.

Then asked them to do the same as he had done among them.

This morning I am reading again from Ephesians. And I can’t help but compare the world in that ancient culture with our culture today.

I’m thinking, we tend to forget, that the messed-up world we live in is not the worst of times.  

When in truth, the hospitably and benevolence of people, and nations, have never quite measured up to God’s plan for peace and harmony; and taking care of our earth.

The real glitch in God’s plan is the basic nature of the human ego is less than justice minded.

That truth becomes unquestionably clear, right from the beginning of time, from the Garden right to the end of the Old Testament history and beyond.

Individuals want it their way!

Jesus’ was born into such problematic human cultures to break down the walls of power and hostility, ugliness-of-mind and arrogance.

Walls built by human minds was one of Jesus’ biggest challenges.

And that, very power hungry, need to be in charge was the thing that ended Jesus’ life on the cross.

The main things we need to trust, in all the mess and awful of our time, is that God didn’t — doesn’t — stop moving in and around the mess to make it better.

So instead of wring our hand, and worrying our mind into knots, remember the promise of God’s never-failing, faithful presence in it all.

An in the long run, the Herod’s never really win.  They just make it difficult for a time.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. ...

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵(John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1)

What we can’t see, or possibly imagine, is God’s possibility in the darkest places.