Finding surprising comfort in 1 Thessalonians 5--

"For all of you are children of the light* and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. " ( 1 Thessalonians 5)

From the two readings at church today, I had fully intended to chat with you about the first of them, which is my favorite: Proverbs 31, in which the value and virtue of a good wife is extolled. I've loved that reading for all of my adult life; it is a rebuke, of sorts, to the fundamentalists who would like to see women relegated to silence and obedience, with little to no accolades given. 

That said, I found myself drawn to, and strangely comforted by, the words of St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. Now, I often have a quibble or two with St. Paul's world view, but not today. I have needed to feel some reassurance, and I haven't found it anywhere for a while. The horrors from the war in Gaza and Israel, the ongoing destruction and devastation in Ukraine, the violence, rancor, and vituperation festering in our own country--these, and other things, have worn my soul thin, or so it feels. I want to walk upright, feeling the sun on my face, and know that things will be okay. That's hard to find these days. 

So, when I was doing the reading, and I heard my own voice proclaiming that "we are not of the night or of darkness," I felt a little bit of calm come into my mind. We are not of darkness; if we keep faithful to one another, and if we keep working for positive change, we can make a difference. It is hard, it is painful, it is often messy, but it's work we can do, especially with like-minded people. Choosing to be a warrior instead of a worrier is not easy for me, but I think it's necessary to do so. Otherwise, the darkness wins. 

Have a good Sunday,

C