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Lord, Send Them Angels Down

12/20/2017

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​Some days I look around and I don’t recognize who we have become as a nation.  I don’t understand how some decisions are made and shake my head at the values these decisions reflect.
The phrase, “My way is cloudy, Lord, send them angels down”  is taken from an old African American Spiritual and was one of the opening songs of the Black Nativity play which ran recently here in Milwaukee.  It is also how many feel about America today.  The issues and assaults to our values and way of life seem, at times, overwhelming.  Some days I look around and I don’t recognize who we have become as a nation.  I don’t understand how some decisions are made and shake my head at the values these decisions reflect. 

  • Tax cuts that favor the rich and exasperates inequality.   Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • Adding $1 trillion to the deficit through a tax give-a-way to the wealthy while at the same time discussing cutting Medicare, Social Security and Welfare because the deficit is too high.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • Five years after Sandy Hook we saw the largest mass killing in American history.  Each year, more than 30,000 people are killed by firearms, and still there is no gun control legislation.   Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • Billions of dollars lost and millions of people displaced through wildfires and hurricanes of epic proportions – but our leaders deny climate change.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • Rampant misogyny and sexual misconduct.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • Repeated efforts to dismantle healthcare for all and tens of millions threatened with loss of coverage.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • Nearly 1,000 people are killed by police each year, causing unrest across the nation.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • We attempt to ban Muslims from America and threaten to deport children of immigrants – the majority of whom have lived here most of their lives.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • A resurgence of white nationalists and violence against people of color.  Lord, send them angels down.
 
  • The threat of Nuclear war with North Korea.  Lord, send them angels down.

​This is my list.  I encourage each of you to add your own intention.  But I caution you, don’t expect any miracles.  Don’t expect God to intercede and bring peace on earth.  As a Quaker, I don’t believe in prayers that ask God to intervene.  I’m more in line with Rabbi Jack Riemer when he wrote, We Cannot Pray to You”  in which he said:

“We pray…for strength, determination, and willpower, to do instead of just to pray, to become instead of merely to wish.”

Pray for strength – as you work for social justice.
Pray for wisdom – as you choose your elected officials.
Pray for guidance – as you decide whether to run for office.
Pray for determination – as you hold your elected officials accountable.
​
You see, I believe that we have all that we need to succeed on any of these concerns.  The way may be cloudy, but this we know: we are the answers to our own prayers.  We are the angels God has sent.  And, it looks we have our work cut out for us.
1 Comment
Bonnee Beth
12/20/2017 12:24:04 pm

Our community/nation needs people with your perception and eloquence to run for office.

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    Michael Soika has been a community activist for more than 30 years working on issues of social and economic justice.  His work for justice is  anchored by his spiritual formation first as a Catholic and now as a Quaker.

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