December 18

Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4-7

Rev. Dr. Elyse Berry, Associate for Advocacy and Leadership Development at CHHSM

Not nice.
But still, tender.
Tender like “in touch with pain.”
One’s own. Others’. Ours. Everyone’s. (but particularly and differently.)
Tender like knowing from experience.
Tender like there’s too much at stake not to be.
Tender like fiercely fighting for
the soft parts of us trying to make it,
the possibilities of right relationships,
the justice that changes everything – roots deep.
Tender like abolition.
– m jade kaiser

 

It is our birthright to be tender, tethered, connected. In our Scripture passage today, we hear a call for our gentleness to be known and as a cause to rejoice. We see a thread made between this gentleness and God’s peace. And yet, the harshness and violence of our world can threaten and deaden our access to our inherent wholeness and tenderness. Moreover, poverty, discrimination, and oppression construct barriers to care, even when one is brave enough to be soft in a rough reality. For people who use drugs, these barriers can show up in a variety of ways—from a system of punishment and incarceration to stigma and isolation. Yet, our tradition says we have a God that created us for belonging, for our needs to be met, and for nearness to the Beloved to be true regardless of what the world would have a us believe.

May we learn to become protectors of gentleness, this Advent season and always, for ourselves and especially those most vulnerable to harm. Amen.

Prayer

Inhale: Gentle, gentle, gentle.
Exhale: Tenderness is my birthright.

Freedom Song

Music: “Peace Be Still” by Stephen Iverson
Offered by: Denise Griebler