Let this be our revolution

Today I picked up a collection of Alice Walker's poetry that I hadn't looked at in awhile. It's called "Horses Make the Landscape Look More Beautiful." It holds a poem that I like to quote every once in awhile. It is entitled "We Alone"

We alone can devalue gold
by not caring
if it falls or rises
in the marketplace.
Wherever there is gold
there is a chain, you know
and if your chain
is gold
so much the worse
for you.

Feathers, shells
and sea-shaped stones
are all as rare.

This could be our revolution:
To love what is plentiful
as much as what's scarce.

What is it that is plentiful? When I think of the things that are plentiful, I think of the well I've drunk from this week. I think of the forgiveness that has been offered me from the heart of a friend, the love that is shared with me from Kathy, the laughter that fills my spirit in seeing my children grow, and the grace that is poured out to me in the daily interactions with strangers and friends.

This morning I met with a group of women here at Broadway. Wise women. Women who have seen and known a variety of conditions of the human race. These are women whose ancestries bring them from diverse corners of the globe. Each one of them distinct and powerful and beautiful. Pat and Hertha and Margaret and Barb gather every week to discuss their lives, their faith and the world. And it is a beautiful tale that they tell. They talk of hard things, they laugh a lot, they ask each other probing questions. They don't let each other off the hook. They ask discerning and difficult questions about our faith and the way in which it often throws up roadblocks to the call and claim of God upon our lives. They talk of women, down through the years, locked out from full participation in the life of the church. But mostly they talk about what is plentiful...the depth of faith and hope in their own lives and in the lives of those around them.

I meet later in the evening with Terry and Kenny from a local t-shirt shop. We laugh and talk about education and community. It was a hilarious and raucous and meaningful conversation.

When I was in seminary my friend went off in our second year to work for the United Methodist Church in the Phillippines documenting human rights violations. When she got back we had some long talks at a retreat center in the Pocono Mountains (where Kathy and I were living, and I was working). Meredith told me that the folks who were part of her team were those who would help lead a revolution in this country. I've thought about that a lot. What is the revolution that is called for? What is the one that Jesus called for? For my money it is a revolution like Alice Walker writes about. It is a revolution that sees that even just the tiniest bit of faith can move mountains. It is a revolution that recognizes the blessedness, grace and abundance that is around us at every moment. That's what it looks like tonight, anyway...