I've tried to imagine what it will take to create something of beauty and sweetness in this country. I've tried to observe and absorb what people are saying. Where the attention is going. I've wondered what kind of work each of us now needs to take on to face the future. And it's hard to know exactly, because so many different things could happen, and the landscape changes a little every day... So here is my first draft of a Recipe for the Coming Era. Modify at will. No specific measurements. Just shit arayn.
Read moreThe Theology of the Cubs
Souvenir ball from my childhood.
If only we could live our lives this way! With such constancy. With exquisite endurance, faith that doesn't flag, joy even in the waiting. Holding the world – and each other – with love and loyalty, despite imperfection, despite unfinishedness... If we could just hang on to life, with all its ups and downs, with the fierce love with which Cubs fans hang on to baseball. What a world this would be!
Read moreRedigging the Wells (Rosh Hashanah 5777)
But knowing where we stand, knowing who we are, in a deep way? In a way that fills that vacuum? So that we have a sense of priority and of purpose. Compassion at the ready. Yes, knowing where we stand. That is surely something. That is surely medicine for our aching psyches.
Read moreRachel Weeps (and Leaps) for her Children
We also live in a broken time. We walk the streets filled with grief. We are in exile from our highest vision. Our dreams of peace and justice lie in ruins. Now, more than ever, we need Rachel. We need to be Rachel, changing history by following her example.
Read moreRacism Saved My Life
My certainty that I am safe is unearned and undeserved. And so is the certainty of black men in this country that they are not.
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