I realize that I’m feeling now like I felt in the first few days of the pandemic: helplessly facing something deadly. Maybe that’s why the movie “Signs” has been on my mind lately. An alien invasion wouldn’t feel much different than the impact of President Trump’s continuous flow of executive orders.
Who can stop this? Can my blue state? Not right now, I’m in California. We have to focus on supporting fire fighters and those who lost everything to natural disasters. We don’t have much left for fighting for those who will lose everything through unnatural disasters unleashed by the federal government.
Is there a vaccine being developed somewhere that will inoculate us against white male warrior types who want to take over the country? Whenever I comfort myself with the words – “oh that’s overreacting, that won’t happen here.” I remember Iran and all the rights and privileges women had and lost there. When a group of powerful white men believe their primary purpose is to be a warrior and conquer, do the rest of us have to warrior up too? Won’t that mean everybody dies?
I’ve been reading through the Gospel of John, and its not much help. Jesus says that some will listen to him, and some won’t. Some will see his miracles as proof of God in their midst, and others won’t. M. Night Shyamalan might agree. In the movie “Signs” the lead character Graham says that there are two kinds of people, folks who see things that happen as signs that someone is watching and saving them. Others see everything as luck. In the face of Roman oppression, Jesus performed major miracles; he fed the hungry, healed the sick, even raised the dead, and still some people didn’t see God’s saving hand. In the face of an alien invasion, Shyamalan set saving signs that were subtle, little clues dropped into the stuff of everyday life. Graham doesn't recognize them until the very end of the movie. HEY -- I’ll take either! Big miracles or little subtle signs – I just need to be able to recognize them now!
The path through the pandemic wasn’t clear in the first days or weeks. But the Holy Spirit lit up imaginations and we learned how to worship God and how support our neighbors in ways we’d never dreamed of. We need that breath of imagination to blow through again. I know this blog has been more of a journal entry than anything else, but I’m wondering if you want to join me in this prayer;
Gracious God, Show me the way forward. How can I be part of what you are doing? Give me eyes to see your signs and follow your lead. I pray to you as Creator, Savior and Advocate, Amen.
Scroll through the links and the free resource – maybe you’ll find a sign of what you can do – as a congregation or as individuals.
National Immigration Law Center website: www.nilc.org
Free Resource: National Immigration Law Center's Protected Areas Policy
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