Pulse.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted & saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18

Now the dwelling of God is with men & he will live with them. They will be his people and He will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

- The Revelation of Jesus to Saint John 21:3-5

Over 100 victims in Orlando this weekend…

Prayers for the departed, that God embraces them in mercy and brings them into eternal rest, the peace that passes all understanding & that the light perpetual shines upon them.

For the wounded, that their bodies, minds & hearts will soon be healed.

For the families & friends of all victims, that God will meet them in their grief.


For the perpetrator who is also a victim & who Christ has commanded us to pray for.

For our communities to reject philosophies of bigotry, ignorance & shallowness.

For the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to move within all of our hearts and minds.


That our nation will finally, finally, finally stop this sick obsession with guns and our apathy towards violence, both of which are in direct opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That our leaders will finally have the decency and courage to stand up to the powerful gun lobby & pass common sense gun laws to help prevent violent crimes. No one needs an assault rifle and anyone who wants one is clearly a threat to others. People need to stop misusing the second amendment to rationalize this nonsense.

That our nation will finally have understanding and compassion for those who struggle with mental illness. They deserve & require free access to health care and well-funded professional support systems. That left un-cared for, these people are more likely to turn to crime and are much more susceptible to terrorist organizations that prey on such people.

That people of good conscience have discernment & bravery. Free speech is not a license to incite violence or repression. That when people like Donald Trump spew their hate-filled, prejudiced & toxic rhetoric, the rest of us need to make it clear that they do not speak for us & tell them to just shut the fuck up.

…and all the whiny-ass rednecks can stop bitching about how “Obama just wants to take our guns away” which is not even remotely close to being the truth.

That our country will never again relegate people to second-class citizens. That regardless of gender, ancestry, faith & sexual preference, all people will be treated equally under the law & given dignity & respect by their peers.

That our nation never again turns cowardly in the face of intimidation. Understanding that knee-jerk reactions like preemptive war & The Patriot Act do NOT make us safer.


That we will continue in the belief that diversity is our strength. That we accept there is more than one valid point of view & our personal views are sometimes wrong. That we defend the rights of our brothers & sisters, even when we disagree with them. That we will always cherish & defend the freedom of personal choice when it comes to speech, religion, the press, peaceful assembly, relationships, sexuality, beliefs, politics, art, music, literature & creativity.  That we insist boys & girls alike deserve free education & career opportunities.


That we will keep all children safe so they can pursue their dreams.


Despite theological/ cultural differences, Judaism, Christianity & Islam ALL WORSHIP THE SAME GOD. The true God is not a god of fear & hate but a God of love & peace. We must celebrate that there is more that unites us than divides us & come together as an ecumenical community & work towards the common goal of healing our world.

No one is born a bigot or a murderer. This is learned behavior and it can be replaced with something positive but people have to step up. These tragedies are preventable. This is not worthy of who we are. We are better than this and we need to start acting like it.

“Kingdom Come” is not some far-off, vague ideal but a tangible reality that is happening right now. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” isn’t up to God, he already wants his will to be done, it is up to each one of us to follow through and make it happen. Every single time we choose to speak or act in accordance with God’s will, we bring his heavenly kingdom into this world, thus replacing sorrow & despair with joy & hope.


Selah.



~ Originally Published June 13, 2016