Friends,
History has repeatedly shown how difficult it is to maintain integrity about our values and the often despairing way life is playing out. We are constantly flummoxed, for example, by the reality of the enormous gap between the character and leadership style of our now presumptive presidential candidates. The gap between the character of two people is simply so ginormous. How do we reconcile such a difference. And, like most of you, I am heartsick about how difficult it is to reconcile the gap between basic humanitarian conduct and the cruelty to the war in the Middle East. Every cell in my body wants to cry out in a combination of rage and sadness as I struggle to fill the gap between between my humanitarian values and the reality of the senseless horror of the war. There will always be some discrepancy between my idealism and the realism of the human condition. There will always be liars who create the gap between a truth and what they falsely try to make us believe. But the moral confusion accompanying the current state of public life wears on us. A life without integrity means our souls are compromised with the tension between the gap of what we know to a righteous, life-giving orientation of compassion and care and our increasing inclination to normalize the gap between integrity and moral laxity. And we are tempted to just give up. And so how are we to try to “mind the gap” as the London Tube announcement keeps reminding us? How are we to resist falling into the unfilled space of the “gap” of moral indifference? As I have noted so many times in the past, the default position to discouragement and despair is often to associate with a community of those who carry a tradition and practice of kindness and compassion. For some this means staying close to loving family and friends. For others it may be relying on religious or ethical teaching. When we begin to feel the “gap” of moral bearing separating before us, we are indeed fortunate to have those sorts of reserved correctives to fall back on. But there may a time when the “gap” widens between our hopes and the unrelenting reality of our existence begins to suffocate us. What is our default at that point? A wise friend recently offered me one encouraging means of response. His default position is to conclude that there are times when our only option is to just rely on the values that have successfully held, guided and defined us in the past. And we need to accept that all we can do is just to continue “as if” our best values will continue to maintain our sense of integrity and help us “mind the gap” that is threatening us. What if we were able to live with our discouragements by committing ourselves to live “as if” our values will continue to hold despite the hardships and dire evil that threaten us. That kind of commitment may be the most courageous and faithful position we can manage at any given time. And I think it is simply profound wisdom. We live in a very poignant and uncertain time. For hose of us of the Judeo-Christian tradition, I am informed by the powerful Biblical saga of survival, revival and faith. The people thrive with great prophetic vision only to fail to observe a common responsibility for the poor and disinherited. And that is our situation today as well. As we approach Lenten drama of Jesus death, one of the most poignant moments for me in the whole story is the account of Jesus looking down over his beloved Jewish people in Jerusalem shortly before his death and weeping. It was indeed a powerful scene, and whoever was present and observed this moment was obviously deeply moved. One of the last impressions he left for his community was his succumbing to the deep compassion and sadness for the plight of his beloved Jewish people. I am grateful that “Jesus wept” was maintained in the story. In the practice of nonviolence we know that a deep love for the people, even to ultimate sacrifice, is the most powerful way humanity can “mind the gap” between hatred and indifference and a conversion of compassion and community. Peace, Tom
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