Faith, Love, Tragedy & Possibility
“In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.”
~ John O’Donohue
READING ~ James Ford “Take Care of the Children”
TALK
This week I, like many of you, have been remembering September 11, 2001.
I know exactly where I was when I first knew about the tragedy of the Trade Tower attacks and the horrors that continued throughout that day and the following days. I remember lots of talk about our collective loss of innocence and even more talk about the courage and commitment of the responders. I remember the stories of people both lost and saved on that day. You do too. A tragedy of enormous proportion to our nation.
Also, this week, we are anticipating and preparing for the worldwide Climate Strike on Friday, September 20th. An event of enormous possibility for our nation and our world.
We live in the spaces between tragedy and possibility. It is there that we find our faith and allow that faith to lead us forward in love with both hope and confidence.
I want to share with you part of a blogpost essay written on September 11th this year by Buddhist Priest and UU Minister, James Ford. For me, the simple message that James Ford conveys here is exactly what I need as I cope with finding and living out my faith in the spaces where we live. Each day is a new beginning.
I commend the entire post to you. I will share portions.
The Sunday that followed 9/11 I was expected to preach. Casting about to find something that might be a word of hope I listened to stories.
One in particular captured my heart.
Something truly horrific happened.
… And looking back I recall that story that captured me.
On that 11th day of September 2001, just before the first tower fell, trapped on the 105th floor where he worked for the investment bank Cantor-Fitzgerald, 32 year old Stuart Meltzer just had time to make one phone call. He called his wife. She wasn’t at home, so he left a message on their answering machine. “Honey, something terrible is happening. I don’t think I am going to make it. I love you. Take care of the children.”
The wisest words are almost always small words. But they can summarize it all. Stuart Meltzer sets the stage for all of us, sets the conditions for our finding of perspective, for our coming to wisdom.
…….
Here is the heart of the song, sung to us from the 105th floor of the World Trade Center, the lesson, the only lesson we can pull out of this horror that will ease hurt and heal wounds. Passing as we are, we are woven together into a great mystery. That mystery is love. When we know love, we go can forward to give our hands and our lives to care for the children and each other. Let us not miss it. It is the blessing that pours forth for all of us from that terrible moment at the World Trade Center, flowing like life-giving waters, like an ever flowing stream.
It is often the simplest words that convey the most profound meaning.
I love you. Take care of the children.
When caught in a moment of tragedy and violence, Stuart Meltzer, like so many others, phoned home. He left the only message that he could, the only message that mattered.
I love you. Take care of the children.
As a nation, we experience tragedy often, too often.
Terrorism, domestic and foreign.
Hurricanes, floods and wildfires.
Mass shootings.
In the midst of tragedy, we reach for each other and place our very last hopes, thoughts, and prayers in the things that matter. I love you. Take care of the children.
In juxtaposition with our remembrances of tragedy is the great possibility coming from our young activists who call us to engage in a worldwide strike against climate disaster.
Here is what the Climate Strike is all about …
With the consequences of climate change becoming ever more clear and dire with each passing day, a new powerful wave of the climate movement has been swelling up over the last couple of years. Young people around the world have been rising up to defend our future, and have been going on strike – every week, all over the planet – for months. On September 20, for the first time, the adults are joining us.
WE, AS A GLOBAL SOCIETY, ARE AT A CROSSROADS. WE HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE. ARE WE GOING TO CHOOSE MONEY OR POWER OR ARE WE GOING TO CHOOSE THE FUTURE? THE SEPTEMBER 20 STRIKE IS AN INVITATION TO EVERYONE TO CHOOSE US. CHOOSE THE KIDS, CHOOSE HUMANITY, CHOOSE THE FUTURE.
Led by a diverse coalition of youth-led and adult-led organizations, September 20 is an intergenerational day of striking that will launch an entire week of climate action across the world. Find out more about week of action here.
September 20 is only the beginning. We must carry this energy to the 2020 elections, and beyond to ensure real, bold action is taken to address the climate crises. This is history in the making, and it’s time we take back the narrative to save our futures.
We all ought to know as much as we can about the youth climate activists and adult organizations working in coalition with them to make real and effective changes in international climate policy and action.
The three places near Castine scheduled to be part of the action on Friday are Bangor, Ellsworth and Bar Harbor.
There is so much possibility in the dedication of our youth. If our planet is to be able to support human life in the next century, we need to make changes now. I know this. You know this. Really, everyone knows this. Yes, even the so-called climate deniers know this.
What we will do remains to be seen.
Each day is a new beginning.
Take care of the children – all the children, everywhere.
Let us not miss it. It is the blessing that pours forth from both tragedy and possibility, flowing like life-giving waters, like an ever-flowing stream.
How then shall we live?
Love without Exception and Take care of the Children.
If we can manage this, we will do well.
