Dear Mr. President - September 2019

September 2019

Dear Mr. President,

It’s the last day of September and, WOW! What a month. It looks like you’re in a little bit of trouble. It also looks like you have put our nation at risk. Did you read your job description? 

There is more to learn about your illegal dealings. There are people with untold stories. There are laws you can’t slither out from under, although, you have slipped and slid like green slime for most of your life.  

Heads up: Whistleblowers aren't spies. Calling world leaders to interfere with our democracy and elections is against the law. Hiring thugs to work in the White House is dangerous. For you.  

The majority of us in America are cautiously watching. Some think this is a slam dunk for you to end up in the slammer. Some are afflicted with a chronic case of the giggles. Some are solemnly paying attention to the work of congress and hope the long-forgotten laws of the land are resuscitated.

I feel two things.

Grief. Relief.

Grief. In my many letters to you, I have written of the immigrants and refugees who have suffered under your cruel hatred, racism, and White Supremacy. I have grieved over your painful family separation policy, your caging of babies, and the sexual and physical abuse these precious people have endured by border patrol and ICE in the United States of America. Spirits and bodies have been destroyed.

Relief. Although it won’t happen soon enough, I believe you, Stephen Miller, ICE, and all those working on these vile policies will see justice for human rights violations. I live in the hope of the end of your evil, and that parents and children will be reunited. We owe them the opportunity we have offered all immigrants. "You are welcome here."

Grief. You have turned our country into a war zone. You have inspired mass shootings. Your words have been copied in manifestos by national terrorists who have killed so many innocents. You have given the NRA free reign, as have all the Republicans. I will always grieve the fact that guns kill people and our country is without strict gun control laws. Again, the majority of our country clamor for gun sense. There have been too many funerals of bodies where bullets have been lodged.

Relief. Although it won’t happen soon enough, gun control will happen. Sensible lawmakers who are against children being shot up in their classrooms will pass laws to protect us as a nation. We might even match other developed countries someday. Other countries are our example. We are not theirs.

Grief. Our world is burning and drowning. This beautiful earth is now a victim of humanity. We are killing our home. We will be homeless. Climate change is real. Only the most ignorant of people refuse to accept this. You, sir, are one of them. You have have rolled back protections for our home. People, animals, and plant life are gasping for life. You have put us at great risk.

Relief. Although it won’t happen soon enough, we have the chance to heal. We have hope to repair the harm we have done to our home. When you are gone, we will have sane politicians who will reinstate protections and controls. We will lead the world once again in slowing the warming of this beautiful earth. Until then, the majority of us will do all we can to lessen our footprint.

Grief. Your love of hatred and division have spread like a deadly disease. Families are torn apart. Friendships are broken. People are judged and condemned by skin color, the place they worship, or who they love. You have tried to take away Women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, Dreamers rights, and basic human rights. You incite violence. That’s your goal. Your minority of followers find hatred palatable. More than that, they crave hurting and debasing others. Stupidity and greed cause heartburn. You need a new diet.

Relief. Although it won’t happen soon enough, we have the chance to restore humanity to all human beings. No one is above another. No skin color is superior. No religion can be condemned. No one can be judged for who they love. The rich are not superior to the poor. The United States of America is big enough for us all.

There is so much more. But I’ve written enough. I feel one more thing:

Belief. As a woman of faith, I believe in a loving God. I believe there is more good than bad in the world. I believe that hate kills and love heals. Simple stuff. 

When we look for these simple things in the people around us, when we hear their stories, when we decide to see the God-ness in them, then we see what binds us together. 

My belief in God means I believe in how this is all going to end. It ends with a new beginning. It ends with the lowliest of us all having the best seats at the party. It means those who are puffed up with things like money, pride, and the fat of the land, will be serving the abused, the lost, the suffering, and the least of all. 

It’s a great story. It’s a little upside down, but that’s how it works. God shows up in the small hand of a child crying for her mother. God shows up in the person racked with anxiety and depression. God shows up in the transgender young man. God shows up in the doctor who still makes house calls. God shows up as the single mom at the food bank, choosing food for her five children. Personally, those are the ones I want to be around, because I want to be near God.

This was a mini sermon. No apologies from me.

Here’s to October. May your cruelty be deconstructed, and may kindness, mercy, and justice reign. 

Pastor Barb