Merton on the beautiful and terrible words of God . . .
How beautiful and how terrible are the words with which God speaks to the soul of those He has called to Himself, and to the Promised Land which is participation in His own life—that lovely and fertile country which is the life of grace and glory, the interior life, the mystical life. They are words lovely to those who hear and obey them: but what are they to those who hear them without understanding or response?
For the Land which thou goest to possess is not like the land of Egypt from whence thou earnest out where, when the seed is sown, waters are brought in to water it after the manner of gardens. But it is a land of hills and plains, expecting rain from heaven.
And the Lord thy God doth always visit it, and His eyes are on it from the beginning of the year unto the end thereof.
If then you obey my commandments, which I command you this day, that you love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul:
He will give to your land the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your corn, and your wine, and your oil, and your hay out of the fields to feed your cattle, and that you may eat and be filled.
Beware lest perhaps your heart be deceived and you depart from the Lord and serve strange Gods and adore them: and the Lord being angry shut up heaven and the rain come not down, nor the earth yield her fruit, and you perish quickly from the excellent land which the Lord will give you...
So, here's the thing: if you follow God's commandments, everything is going to be great for you. If, on the other hand, you ignore those commandments--"depart from the Lord and serve strange Gods and adore them"--then you're pretty much fucked. Plain and simple. And this isn't just about Christianity. Almost every world religion has the same basic tenet at its foundation. Some people call it "The Golden Rule": "Do unto as you would have them do unto you." Don't be an asshole. Be nice and kind and respectful. To everyone.
That's pretty much it. It covers all the biggies: murder, adultery, theft, gossip, insurrection, Lifetime movies, and Justin Bieber. Now, considering the events of today in the United States, I think this little reminder is necessary. For the last four years, people seem to have forgotten this one simple rule that we all learned in kindergarten. I know that, if I was mean to anyone in grade school, I ended up missing recess, sitting in the principal's office, washing blackboards after school. If I was really bad, my parents were called.
The terrorists who took over the Capitol Building today are not the problem. They are the result. We live in a society that has institutionalized a variety of hatreds--racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia. The Donald Trump presidency didn't create these things. It simply allowed them to crawl out from the shadows and march down the street, waving Confederate flags.
So where do we go from here? Well, people need to get sent to the principal's office. They need to have their recess privileges revoked. They need to spend a few hard years sponging down chalkboards and clapping erasers. Parents need to be called. And, if those parents are mean, too, then their kids need to be expelled from the school.
These are the consequences of breaking the Golden Rule. If you can't play nice, stay off the playground. Donald Trump is a playground bully with nuclear warheads and an armed militia. His toys need to be taken away, and he needs to be put on permanent timeout. Any good parent knows this.
This day has been exhausting. Disappointing. Traumatizing.
Yet, there were moments of great hope and heroism, as well. While senators and representative fled the building, congressional aides grabbed the ballot boxes containing the electoral votes and marched out with them, insuring the safety of the election results. They faced down the bullies, and they did it with calm and dignity. They get their gold stars for the day. Maybe Good Citizenship certificates, too.
School resumed, and the day's work was completed.
Our country is far from perfect. We saw both the best and ugliest parts of it today. Things that filled me with pride, and things that filled me with shame. I have great hope that newer, brighter days are ahead.
But let's be clear about this: just because your skin is white and you commit acts of terrorism, that doesn't make you a protestor. You are still a terrorist. And your playground time should be taken away. Forever.
Saint Marty gives thanks today for the miracle of nice people who know what real courage is.
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