Monday, May 13, 2013

Pentecost Prayer Day 40

Good big brothers and sisters don't ridicule, torture and reject siblings who are slower in ares than are they. Good older siblings are taught to admit their own strengths and weaknesses and share abilities with the whole family. It is true that there is often fear and resentment of the new addition, but when responsible compassion is the way of a family, this is soon overcome by the sense of belonging to a safe society. The ways of the newcomer don't threaten the ways that are firmly established in a fruitful family; they actually enhance it.

In many poorly functioning families, the adults regress to earlier states of childhood rather than stand firm in their own values. I suspect this is because the family hasn't set a clear mission or vision, much less a plan for the accomplishment of such. All are drowning together, but nobody has courage enough to step out and learn to lead.

This is how I feel about multiculturalism and the United States of America. We have a stated vision and mission, and we have a constitution that is supposed to keep us on the path to justice on earth for all. We continue to allow rules of religions to contaminate our constitutional rules. When we stand firm in our commitment to the constitution without fear of failure because of one segment of society or another, we will become a true constitutional democracy.

America has already suffered through the same infancy of self absorption that so many other countries are just experiencing. We must stand firm in our separation of church and state, which will ultimately strengthen both because we have intimately examined each of them. I see our country's challenge as being the good big brothers and sisters to the emerging adults, no matter how early on they are in their growth.

We do have to be careful not to backslide in our own progress toward our fully human, responsibly compassionate goal as we continue to walk the walk of our values. My prayer for Pentecost is that we stop being afraid, and beginning being in awe, of the challenges that accompany change.