We receive grace from God – it cannot be bought, earned, deserved, or demanded, but can only be received as a gift. Wouldn’t you think that when a person is conscious of being given grace by God, that person would want to turn around and offer the gift of grace to others?
The apostle Paul writes that since we have been reconciled with Christ, we are to become ambassadors for Christ in the world. In Christ, let us also be ambassadors of peace and love in the world in such a time as today.
This country would be wise to study the presidents’ work and morals, attend to their memory and legacy with honest and frank assessments as to their failings and faults, and seek a more perfect union in our time. This indeed, is holy and prophetic work in the public square as we parcel out truth from untruth. This is important and nuanced work as we fight for the soul of our democracy.
Consider developing a “rule of life” in relation to news. How might you bring a practice of prayer into your engagement with the media?
Why should persons like myself who have received the same gift of saving faith – who pray, read the Bible, come to worship and who are active members in religious and civil society – why should we be condemned by some of our kin in the Church and by fellow citizens in our nation?
How do we tell a fuller swath of history to the next generation, without falling into the habit of downsizing U.S. history into ever simplified narratives around heroism and achievement? What happens when those in power and dominant places in culture and politics become allergic to or threatened by the desire to respect history with nuance and complexity?