I don’t know what to make of prolific people on social media who appear to never have mixed feelings. Who take a certain side, defend a certain position down the line no matter what has occurred. I mean, nothing ever happens to make a person cry foul on their own team? Nothing?? Is there no point when our side has gone too far? I can’t comprehend it. Seems to me that is putting way too much confidence in humans. Nobody’s always right. The thing about straight lines drawn by human hands is how prone they are to get crooked.
The question for followers of Jesus isn't "Which side are you on?" but "What spirit is shaping you?"
Every moment we either participate in the healing of the world or in its further breaking.
A people who refuse to despise one another are immune to authoritarians because an authoritarian’s power depends on certain groups of people despising other groups of people.
This is why there’s so much power in Jesus’ words, “love your enemies.”
It is an act of resistance.
One of Jesus's most underrated leadership strengths was his ability to remain unchanged by unfair criticism.
Nothing will hijack your vision & mission from the inside out,
like constantly trying to prove people wrong.
The internet shutdown in Afghanistan happened in real time in my online poetry class on Monday. The women's accounts dropped out one by one. The last to go was Neda. Just before her image froze, I promised to put her poem on Twitter. She's 11. Online was her last hope of education. @WRNAfghanistan
The contemplative tradition in Christianity is not a luxury—it is a necessity for the kind of moment we are living in.
To be still before the Lord is to place ourselves in the posture of receptivity.
And in stillness, we learn to live beyond reactivity.
The hatred we allow ourselves to nurture and express day by day is training our hearts to conduct and condone violence when the opportunity arrives. We are lying to ourselves if we think we will make any progress against political violence without rooting out political hatred.