Another Rough Week

The national news went from bad to even more bad this week.

(I don’t think I need to remind you of some of the terrible things that happened.)

They (whoever they are) are doing a great job of making the news cycle spin so fast and terribly and tragically that those of us who are not fond of the President, Vice President, their billionaire friends, or the President’s lying, sycophantic cabinet members are having a hard time catching our breath.

I have been out of breath this week.

Funny. That makes me think about something I learned long ago in the Conservative Baptist church where I grew up. The word for Holy Spirit in Greek—breath, or wind.

Remembering this might help me slog through these dark days with a little more peace, a little less despondency. The Spirit brings good: things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). All these are as close as my next breath, gifts always available to me. Sadly, they do not seem to be on display in the current administration or in churches that have fallen under the spell of Christian nationalism.

There was a video clip on the Fox News Instagram page a few months ago of Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, praying before a press conference. She said, “Lord Jesus, please give us the strength, the knowledge, the ability to articulate our words, and have fun and be confident in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

This is the same woman who said that the murder of Renee Michelle Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota this week was part of a “larger sinister left-wing movement that has spread across our country, where our brave men and women of federal law enforcement are under organized attack.” Good was a “domestic terrorist.” Umm. No, Karoline. She was a mother with a dog in the back of her car who was in the area because she knew ICE was nearby and she and her wife wanted to support their neighbors who, for good reason, were afraid of ICE.

I do not think Jesus would approve of her murder. I do not think he would label her a “domestic terrorist.”

I know that the command to love my neighbor includes loving the people who are perpetrating this despicable mess of greed, lies, abuse, and death. But loving them doesn’t mean we need to get together in a circle and hold hands and sing “Amazing Grace” or listen to Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Because the way these leaders are leading—their lust for power, control, security, riches, and success? These aims aren’t good for them—they’re not good for anyone. None of these satisfy; they are mirages, false doors that we think will make us happy but which can’t deliver.

So what are we to do? What is the call for people who love Jesus and who think Good’s murder was despicable and that the President and his administration are very confused about what is true and just, that they are enacting evil policies that will ultimately fail to bring them deep lasting happiness or anything good?

We stay together. We show up. We show up, and show up, and show up again. We protest and then also take mental health breaks. We go outside and walk our dogs and go to our local farmers’ markets and buy Placer County mandarin oranges by the bag in mandarin season because they are the best. We meet our friends for tea and walks. We organize game nights. We have Zoom meetings that remind us we are not alone. We breathe in all the good gifts that the Spirit brings. We pray and sit in silence. We remember the light and try to be light. We do our best to love God and our neighbors—all our neighbors, as ourselves. We figure out what it means to do this practically—and then we act.