"I will lay me down"

 

Be the Bridge

“If Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed were to bump into each other on the road and go have a cup of tea or whatever, I think we all know they would treat one another far different and far better than a lot of their followers would.”

Brian D. McLaren

          Flipping through my news feed this morning, I came across dozens of articles about protests and street fighting, cars ramming into protestors, grown men prancing around with long-guns, flexing their military gear. I did see one heartening article about more than one hundred former law clerks of Ruth Bader Ginsburg lining the steps of the Capital as her coffin was carried in for viewing. That was quite a tribute. It made me cry. I also saw a quote on Facebook about the fact that in addition to all the anger and division in America, there are also people who are loving and smiling and kind to everyone they meet. Good to know. I find myself searching for good news these days. It’s not an easy quest.

          One beautiful video I found, also on Facebook, was of a men’s acapella group singing Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Perhaps you remember some of the lyrics:

“…When you’re down and out

When you’re on the street

When evening falls so hard

I will comfort you

I’ll take your part

Oh, when darkness comes

And pain is all around

Just like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down…” 

          Isn’t that how it should be on this Sabbath morning? Shouldn’t we comfort one another, stand by one another? Especially if we happen to be a follower of one of those guys mentioned by Brian McLaren in the quote above—those lovers of light, who did their best to quell the darkness of their day. We still have it in us to become that bridge over troubled water for one another. Don’t we?

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane