Litany for Peace

 

 

I just wanted to share some prayers from a prayer service for peace at house church last week.  The litany and closing prayer are original.  Let us pray and work for peace.

 

We are molded, each one of us,
in the image of God,
and within our souls there is a fingerprint
none can erase.
We pray for those who have no regard
for anyone but self,
who put no value on human life.
For nations and individuals who abuse and kill.
We are not called to be judge or jury,
but we are called to be agents of change,
and if the butterfly that flaps its wings
should be our attitude to others
then so be it, Lord,
and may the hurricane this generates
somewhere within the world
reach into the hearts and souls of those
for whom we pray, and reveal to them
how precious are those
for whom they have no love,
and how precious are they
who now bring tears to the eyes of God.
©John Birch

We imagine a world
where the deaths of innocent children are never viewed as inevitable and justifiable.
We imagine a world
with no guns, no bombs, no armies, no soldiers.
We imagine a world
free of violence, exploitation and oppression.
We imagine a world
where every human life is honored and regarded as sacred.
We imagine a world
where selfishness and apathy are no longer the norm and good people are no longer silent.
We imagine a world
where grace, gentleness and compassion are prized much more than money, power and status.
We imagine a world
where the triumph of justice, righteousness and peace become an every day occurrence.

Gracious and loving God to you now we turn.  No other help do we know.  For the violence in our hearts, for the violence in the words we’ve spoken, for the violence done on our behalf aided by our apathy and inaction, forgives us, wash us and convert us.   Help us to continue to dream your dream for the world and give us the courage to spend our lives making your dream a reality.  Send us to our homes in peace and out into your world to make peace.  In the name of Jesus, whose very life was pierced by the violence we seek to end Amen.

Following the Way,
Kevin Vetiac

Michael Brown: When Will They Stop Killing Us?

When I first heard about the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri I had no reaction at all.  I just went numb.  I think my heart was so broken by the death of yet another unarmed black man by the police that it would not allow me to feel anything at all, afraid I would collapse completely under the weight of grief, rage and the sense of helplessness.  I was reading another article about the situation yesterday and I finally broke.  I burst into tears at my desk at work and had to run to the bathroom so I could have a moment to grieve in private.  As a black man I cannot help but ask the following questions.  Why do white people hate us so much?  What did we do to them?  Slavery wasn't enough.  Jim Crow wasn't enough.  Lynching wasn't enough.  Depriving us from economic opportunity and forcing many of us into ghettos is not enough.  Now we must also be shot dead for walking down the street.  When will they stop killing us?

I've heard some people blame the militarization of the police for the shooting of Michael Brown.  Indeed, this is a major problem, but let's not miss the obvious here.  As militarized as the police have become, when's the last time you've heard of an unarmed 18 year-old white teenager being gunned down by the police?  Michael Brown was shot dead for being a black man in a country that is as racist as hell and has been from it's very beginning.  America does not have a race "problem';  America in its very nature is racist and the denial of this reality furthers its perpetuation.  Claims that events like the shooting of Michael Brown are isolated incidents are absolutely absurd.  Was the genocide of the Native Americans an isolated incident?  How about the African slave trade?  The war against Mexico in order to steal land and enlarge the US?  Jim Crow?  Lynching?  The massive rates of incarceration among black people today?  The murders of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and John Crawford?

Am I to believe that all of these are isolated incidents that are not connected to one another?  Absolutely not!  The shooting of Michael Brown is nothing more than the continuation of the subjugation of people of color this country was founded upon and thrives upon to this day.  A racist country produces racist police.  It's simple to understand.  And until the average white American acknowledges the fact that the very foundation of our nation is built upon the refusal to acknowledge people of color as full human beings, the racism will continue and people of color will continue to pay the price.  Your denial is killing us.

Racism killed Michael Brown.  Racism that refuses to acknowledge people of color as fully human.  Racism that says people of color are to be humiliated, exploited and kept in their place.  Racism that says all black men are dangerous menaces to society who need to be locked up or shot dead.  Racism that tells white people to be afraid of all black people everywhere at all times.  Racism that makes it OK to shoot first and ask questions later.  It is this racism that fuels the American way of life and makes white privilege possible.

As a black man it is absolutely ridiculous and heartbreaking that I need to say the following in 2014, but hear me white America:

I am a person.  Do you get that?  Do you really get that?  I'm fully human just like you.  I am not a target.  I am not a dog that can be shot down in the street for no reason.  I do not exist to serve you or be subordinate to you in any way so don't expect me to be submissive to you.  I'm going to say that again because you really need to hear this white America.  I DO NOT EXIST TO SERVE YOU OR BE SUBORDINATE TO YOU IN ANY WAY.  I am made in the image and likeness of God.  My blackness is not a curse, it is a blessing.  I will never apologize to you for existing, never.

We cannot talk about Michael Brown without talking about race.  A racist country produces racist police.  We cannot confront police brutality without confronting racism.  And we cannot end racism in America without dismantling all of the systems formulated to deny people of color their full humanity.  Until we do this all the police training in the world will not stop the lives of people of color from being sacrificed for the maintenance of white privilege one way or the other.  As a black man in America I must return to the question: When will they stop killing us?

Following the Way,
Kevin

Every Breath is a Gift

"The breath you just took is a gift."
Rob Bell

I am becoming aware of the truth of this statement more and more.  It  becomes more difficult to take life for granted when faced with the atrocities taking place in Gaza, Syria and many places around the world.  The thought of innocent children being bombed in their sleep is enough to shake you out of apathy.  At any moment life can be taken from you.  A close friend of mine is in the hospital after a medical emergency that could have easily taken her life.  She is still here and in the midst of sadness and worry about her condition I must be grateful.  I must give thanks that she is still here and I am still here to witness her recovery.

Every breath is a gift, every single one.  Every breath is a manifestation of grace that is at once beautiful and fragile.  Here one moment and gone the next.  We must surrender to this reality if we are to live life well.  Denying our vulnerability does the world no good.  Humility and gratitude are essential to a life well lived.  Realizing the limitations of what we can do for ourselves opens our eyes to see all that is graciously given to us, providing us with opportunities to sink deeper into gratitude.  We can do nothing to earn or deserve the breath of life.  We cannot take life upon ourselves.  It is given to us freely as an act of grace and love.

My favorite part of the creation story in the Bible is Genesis 2:7  "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."  I love the imagery of God stooping down into the clay and personally breathing life into the first human being.  It's a beautiful illustration that our very being is dependent upon another Source, that life is a gift freely given to be received in gratitude.  Love has called us into being.

When I am tempted to fall into despair because of all the troubles in the world I remind myself that every single breath I take gives me another reason to say thank you.  Every breath is a gift.  What will I do with it?  The powers that be seem invincible and ubiquitous, but certainly I can use my life to make a difference in the lives of others.  The ability to be grateful in a world full of trouble saves us from the paralysis of despair and nudges us to use our gift for purposes far greater than securing our own comfort.  Every now and then stop, be still, take a breath and recognize it for the miraculous gift that it is.  Let everything that you do flow from this realization.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Sowing Violence To Reap Peace

Why Such Silence?

I have been so distraught over the relentless targeting of civilians by Israeli forces.  I see the faces of Palestinian children in my dreams and every morning I wake up Gaza has been the first thing on my mind.  Perhaps I am being naive, but I really am in shock that the international community, especially the US, is allowing such atrocities to continue without forcing Israel to stop dropping bombs on innocent civilians.

What I find equally if not more disturbing is the silence of the church regarding the massacres taking place in Gaza.  I've seen clergy promoting books and church programs on facebook, but not mention a word about Gaza.  Israel bombs UN shelters full of women and children in Gaza and the church largely has nothing to say about it.  Why?  Why the silence?

Christians are the only people in the world who proclaim a crucified Savior.  We believe that God is most clearly revealed among the poor and oppressed, not the rich and the powerful.  Liberation theologian Jon Sobrino refers to all people who suffer unjustly as "the crucified people".  What does it mean to proclaim a crucified Savior but ignore the suffering of the crucified people?  Why does the church fail to recognize the Palestinians as a crucified people?  They have been stripped of their homeland by force, occupied by a military regime, trapped in ghettos and refugee camps, stripped of their right of self determination and basic human rights in general, for no other reason than living on land coveted by others with superior military force.  As if living in a concentration camp were not enough, now the people of Gaza must be bombed as well.

To be silent in the face of such injustice is sin and a betrayal of Jesus himself.  We are our brother's keeper.  We are our sister's keeper.  We cannot pick and choose who we will defend if we are to be authentic to the way of Jesus.  We must stand up for the crucified people wherever they appear, whether in Gaza, Syria or the urban ghetto.  I have never been as disappointed with church as I am now, so slow to move, so slow to take notice, so slow to act, so wrapped up in its own agenda.  A church that proclaims a crucified Savior but turns its back on crucified people has lost its way and is of no use to the world.

The world doesn't need more church services.  The world needs people who will lay their lives on the line for the sake of justice and the liberation of the oppressed.  The world needs people who refuse to be silent in the midst of atrocities and will fight for what's right regardless of what it might cost them.  If the church turns its back on Gaza then it has turned its back on Jesus.  Make no mistake about it, we cannot call ourselves the people of God without taking up the cause of those who suffer unjustly. There is no room for us in the kingdom of God if we do otherwise.

Following The Way,
Kevin

The Deception of Despair

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The atrocities currently taking place in Gaza have affected me deeply.  The death of innocent children and the apathy from so many people regarding those deaths have been beyond discouraging.  I found myself nearly slipping into depression and despair, wishing for an eject button to get me off of this planet.  I do not want to live in a world where 1,500 pound bombs are dropped on innocent children in their own homes while the international community fiddles as to what to do about it or barely takes notice at all.

But despair is a deception.  Evil knows that it has already lost and its days are numbered.  Despair is a last ditch attempt to delay the inevitable.  What is the inevitable?  The end of injustice, the end off oppression, the end of violence, the end of unnecessary suffering.  When good people are silent evil wins.  And when good people become overwhelmed with all that is wrong with the world and fall into despair, evil prolongs its last days.  Do not be deceived.  The darkness cannot overcome the light.  Despair is a smoke screen, nothing more than evidence that evil is in its final death throes.  It is designed to keep us from seeing our power and fool us into believing that we cannot overturn every system of oppression.  Do not be deceived.  We can and we must.

Evil will never win because no amount of violence and oppression can ever extinguish the thirst and hunger for righteousness.  The thirst and hunger for righteousness, the desire for a world free of violence, poverty, oppression and hate, the capacity to imagine a whole new world that is just, is eternal.  It cannot be killed.  It cannot be exterminated.  It can only be satisfied and it will not rest until it has had its fill.    

Evil has already lost and because we know this we will fight it wherever it dares to show its face.  We do not give in to fear, apathy or helplessness.  We confront it head on.  I believe that authentic Christianity requires radical militancy regarding injustice, an uncompromising, unyielding, unstoppable determination to end injustice wherever we find it. 

We are seeing injustice now in Gaza where innocent civilians are being regularly targeted by Israel.  Stripping the Palestinians of their homeland and civil rights, locking them into ghettos and blocking them from resources and access to power and self determination apparently is not enough.  Now innocent Palestinian men, women and children must be bombed.

But let us not give in to despair and the paralysis it brings.  Let us not turn our heads and look the other way in apathy.  Now is the time to take our faith, hope and love and translate it into action.  We must stand up to injustice wherever it appears.  We must love the oppressed enough to risk our very lives for their liberation or cease to call ourselves the people of God.  “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Martin Luther King Jr.).  It is time for all of us who consider ourselves  be the people of God to join the struggle for the liberation of the oppressed.  If not now then when?

Following The Way,

Kevin

The Slaughter of the Innocents

Photo by Momen Faiz

Matthew chapter 2 tells the story of the slaughter of the innocents as a part of the birth narrative of Jesus.  According to the story evil King Herod fearing the prophecy that a new king of the Jews has been born orders the Magi to tell him when they find the child.  The Magi do not report back to him so Herod orders the deaths of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and younger.  It's a tragic story of the blatant disregard for for human life in the quest to maintain power, but it is most likely completely fictional.  There is no historical evidence to suggest that such a slaughter of children ever took place under Herod's reign.

The same cannot be said for the Palestinians in Gaza, however.  A real life slaughter of the innocents is taking place there right now.  Over 200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes with over 40 of them being children.  Civilian homes have been targeted with the 1,500 pound bombs used by Israel.  It is important to keep in mind that the residents of Gaza have nowhere to go to escape the bombing.  The borders of Gaza and Israel have been closed and they are hemmed in by the sea.  A population of 1.7 Palestinians live in about 140 square miles and half of the population is comprised of children.  To target civilian homes is to target innocent children.  No political jargon or double talk can avoid this fact.  Israel is dropping 1,500 pound bombs on children.

This fact was made abundantly clear by Wednesday's bombing of  four children on a beach in Gaza.  Hamas was not present.  No rocket launchers were in the vicinity, just fisherman trying to go about their daily lives and children playing on the beach.  Ahed and Muhammed Baker were 11.  Zakariah Baker was 10 and Ismail Baker was 9.  Their crime?  They simply wanted to play outside after being cooped up in their houses for days since the Israeli air strikes began.  They were innocent and they were slaughtered.  No one can deny that.  What are we going to do about it?

We must not remain silent.  We must inform people about the atrocities taking place in Gaza.  We must speak up and demand an end to the slaughter.  We must remind the world that slaughtering children is never acceptable, justifiable or inevitable.  And for people of faith in particular, we have absolutely no right to call ourselves the people of God if we do nothing in the face of injustice, suffering and oppression.  If the slaughter of innocent children does not move us to take action what will?  Now is the time to put our faith into action.

Following The Way,
Kevin

WARNING!  The following video shows graphic footage of the victims of Wednesday's bombing.  Please be advised.  It is very difficult to watch, but I believe it is very important to bear witness to such atrocities so we may be motivated to act and prevent future atrocities from happening again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgmq8fs-ick

The Blood of Jesus

 (Image Credit: AP. Blood in the streets of Gaza City after an Israeli air strike killed seven, July 12)

The blood of Jesus runs red in the streets of Gaza and the church barely takes notice.  In his book The Cross and The Lynching Tree, James Cone defines salvation as "a liberating event in the lives of all who are struggling for survival and dignity in a world bent on denying their humanity" (p. 151).  For Christians we see this salvation illustrated most clearly in the person of Jesus and paradoxically in the scandal of the cross.  It is on the cross that the Son of God becomes the Oppressed One, aligning himself not with the rich or the powerful, but the poor, the oppressed, the trampled upon.  Tragically, the Jim Crow South never recognized the crucified body of Jesus in the lynched bodies of about 5,000 black men, women and children who were brutally beaten, burned, mutilated and hung from trees.  And today we often fail to recognize the blood of Jesus in the shed blood of all who suffer unjustly.

The blood of Jesus runs red in Gaza where the targeting of civilian homes have left over 200 Palestinians dead, over 40 of them children.  The latest victims were four children whose only crime was playing on the beach when an Israeli airstrike violently ended their lives.

The blood of Jesus runs red in Chicago where the combined forces of capitalism and racism have trapped many blacks in ghettos buried in poverty, violence and despair, while being ignored by the rest of society.  Over 80 shootings took place over the course of Independence Day weekend alone.  Let us not be deceived, ghettos are no Chicago phenomenon.  They can be found all throughout the US.  They are created by the rich and the powerful to keep the poor from access to resources and power.

The blood of Jesus runs red in Syria where the death toll continues to rise higher and higher though mainstream media no longer report the atrocities taking place there.  We are over that I guess and on to other things.

Wherever innocent blood is shed the blood of Jesus flows, yet many of us who are his followers fail to recognize this fact.  Many of us care more about the sufferings of fictional characters in shows like Orange Is The New Black than the very real suffering of victims in Gaza or the ghetto.  The cross of Jesus ought to fuel us with a desire to put an end to any more crosses.  The shed blood of Jesus ought to fuel us with an indomitable desire to stop the shedding of any more innocent blood.  The horror of the cross ought to move us to place our very lives on the line in order to create a world where violence, oppression and unnecessary suffering are nothing but distant, distant memories.

Over 2,000 years have passed and yet the blood of Jesus, the blood of the persecuted, the blood of the trampled upon still flows.  When will we take notice?

Following The Way,
Kevin

What Have We Become?

     Something deep within my soul cried out when I saw this photo of the body of a three-year-old Palestinian child being carried by mourners.  Pain shot through my body.  I wanted to look away at the horror of it all, but I made myself look.  I made myself bear witness to this tragedy.  Can you imagine having to bury your child at the tender age of three?  Mohammed Mnassrah is just one of over 20 Palestinian children killed by the Israeli airstrikes over Gaza.  Many civilian homes have been bombed.

I don't want to talk about politics.  I don't want to talk about military strategies.  I want to talk about humanity.  Was three-year-old Mohammed not human?  Did he deserve to die?  What was his crime?  Should we not mourn his death?  Should we not mourn the deaths of all innocent victims of violence?  Some say that the taking of civilian lives is inevitable because Hamas uses civilian sites and Israel must defend itself.  I ask you to lay aside your ideologies and look at the lifeless body of three-year-old Mohammed. How can we look at this picture and not feel pity?  How can we look at this picture and shrug our shoulders and say it was inevitable?

What has happened to us?  What have we become?  Have we lost our souls?  Have we lost the capacity to be human?  When the death of innocent children no longer stirs any sorrow or empathy within us, what have we become?  When we are more interested in the World Cup than the bombing of civilian homes, what have we become?  When the church is more interested in its liturgies than being a cause for justice in the world, what have we become?

I mourn for Mohammed.  I mourn for Naftali, Gilad and Eyal, the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped and murdered.  I mourn for Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was burned alive at the age of sixteen in retaliation.   I grieve for every victim of violence, suffering and oppression.  I grieve for every person who can look upon the death of a child and talk politics and not humanity.  I long for a world where people care more about ending oppression, injustice and violence than soccer, reality television and shopping.  When good people are silent evil wins.  There must be another way.  There must be another way to resolve conflict without killing little children.  And if all of us who clam to know God do nothing to help find that way, then what have we become?

Following The Way,
Kevin

No More Crosses

I was fighting back the tears during the Good Friday service today.  I usually try to avoid thinking about the suffering of Jesus on the cross because I cannot bear it.  It makes my soul shudder.  If I had been one of the disciples I would have run away too.  There's no way I would have been able to bear witness to such pain.  The cross has been sanitized by the church these days.  Many churches feature shining crosses of silver, bronze or even gold.  But the cross that Jesus bore was no sanitized cross and the crucifixion Jesus endured was no sanitized experience.  It was horrifically violent with a brutality that not only marred the body on the cross, but the soul of every person who witnessed it.  It was a scandal.   It was the best way the Romans knew how to completely humiliate and dehumanize its enemies and it was effective.

I was fighting back the tears in church because I realized that Jesus was not the first person to be crucified and he certainly wasn't the last.  We live in a world where those in power are obsessed with crucifying their victims.  I don't believe that it was the wrath of God that brought Jesus to the cross.  Was it the wrath of God that led to the extermination of the native peoples in America?  Was it the wrath of God that caused African slaves to endure the horror of the Middle Passage and then a lifetime of slavery?  Was it the wrath of God that caused bloated black bodies found hanging from trees during the Jim Crow era in the South?  Is it the wrath of God that causes women to be oppressed so men can maintain power?  Is it the wrath of God that necessitates the destruction of communities of people of color all over the world so that white western men can maintain their power?  Is it the wrath of God that demands that LGBT people be crucified so that straight people can feel normal?

No!  God never crucified anyone.  All of the crucifixions mentioned above were done by people so desperate to maintain power that they failed to see human beings as human beings.  They themselves forget their own humanity and became monsters inflicting horrible violence and cruelty upon others who never deserved their crucifixions.

I believe that God has a dream for this world.  I believe that God imagines a world where there are no more crosses.  A world where the poor are not crucified to maintain the lifestyles of the rich; a world where women are not told that they are less than; a world where power over the many lays not in the hands of the few.  Are we bold enough to join God in this dream?  Do we have the capacity to imagine a world without violence and oppression?  May God hep us all to imagine and make reality a world where there are no more crosses.

Following the Way,
Kevin

For Those Who Remain

One year ago today a beautiful, intelligent, confident, funny and sassy young woman by the name of Kristen was gunned down and killed at the age of 22.  She had just graduated from college and returned to Boston.  She was the daughter of my former pastor and we sang many, many songs and endured many, many long rehearsals together in the choir.

I don't have many words to say.  I will not try to defend God.  I will not quote any scriptures; this is not the time for Bible study.  I will not try to be encouraging.  There's no point with grief like this and all of the encouraging things people say just ring hollow anyway.  I will not try to make sense of any of this.  It's simply not possible.

All I can say is that life is a slippery and precious gift that can slip right out of our hands at any moment.  Whether death comes slowly and gently, reaching us in old age like an old friend who's come to take us home or whether death comes swiftly, mercilessly and unexpectedly, none of us are immune.  We all live our entire lives in vulnerability, never knowing when the next breath we take will be our last.

For those of us who remain for the time being, what are we doing with our lives?  How are we using the small number of days allotted to us on this side?  Are there things we want to change?  Are there people we want to forgive?  Are there dreams we want to pursue?  Now is the time.  Don't waste another moment.  We don't know how many we have left.

Kristen's death shook me to the core and forced me to take a good hard look at my life and make some changes.  For all of us who are still mourning her death, for everyone mourning the sudden loss of a loved one,  may all of the grief, pain and sadness be transformed into catalysts for us living the best life that we can, while we can by the grace of God.

Following the Way,
Kevin

The Royal Birth!

Amidst the huge outbursts of emotions all along the spectrum after George Zimmerman's acquittal for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, many have longed for a distraction and have found it in the birth of the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the royal birth!  Such pomp and circumstance!  There were gun salutes, a royal crier and minute by minute news coverage for all the adoring fans.  Yes, the human tendency to disengage with reality and escape into fantasy stood unhindered this week.

Can you guess that I wasn't one of the adoring fans waiting with bated breath for the royal birth?  Sorry! I was just too busy mourning the gutting of The Voting Rights Act and a victory for Florida's fundamentally flawed and biased "Stand Your Ground" law which will only cause more unnecessary violence and gun proliferation and outrage.  "Oh come let us adore him!"  That's basically what the media was saying about William and Kate's baby boy, but there is another royal birth of far greater significance that I am waiting for and that is the birth of Christ in our hearts.

A dear friend of mine has a habit of saying "Merry Christmas!" on any given day.  It seems a bit strange, but the truth is that Jesus is born in our hearts every day whenever we allow him to be, whenever we make room for him.  Whenever we turn from violence and seek peace.  Whenever we seek reconciliation instead of revenge.  Wherever there is love.  Wherever there is compassion.  Wherever there is gentleness, kindness and mercy, Jesus is born in our hearts and is free to live out his resurrected life in us.  Now this is a royal birth to get excited about!  This is the royal birth the world is desperately in need of.  And when it happens it will not be televised.  There will be no fanfare, or gun salutes or royal criers with feathered hats, only a still small voice letting us know we're headed in the right direction.

So may all of the love, all of the compassion, all of the mercy, may all of the sheer goodness, humility and kindness of Jesus be born in our hearts on this day and everyday.  May we all learn to love one another as dearly and tenderly as Jesus loves us so that we may create a world free of hate, bitterness, poverty and war, a world full of the abundant life Jesus comes to bring us whenever we let him in.

Following the Way,
Kevin

Trayvon Martin and Metanoia

I am beyond words right now thinking about the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case.  I am disgusted, enraged, heartbroken and afraid.  I've always wanted children, but as a black man things like this make me pause and think.  Do I want to bring children into a world like this?  A world where I cannot keep them safe?  A world that will look at their black skin and automatically brand them as menaces?  A world where a 17-year-old honor roll, college bound student walking down the street with a bag of skittles and some ice tea is gunned down and the shooter goes free?

Justice in this life is imperfect, but it's where we start.  Convicting George Zimmerman would have done nothing to bring Trayvon back, but it would have sent out a message to any armed-wanna be-cop out there.  And it could have in some small way started the process of "metanoia" or a conversion of the heart for George Zimmerman and our society.  This is what George Zimmerman needs and this is what our racist, patriarchal, capitalist society needs, a change of heart.  Yet as of today George Zimmerman has never apologized for killing Trayvon Martin.  Why should he?  The courts agree with him in his assertion that he has done nothing wrong.  And this is the most tragic part of the verdict: it gives the George Zimmermans of the world no reason to change and it gives those who agree with him no reason to change either.

The soul of our nation is sick with racism, selfishness, greed, apathy and so many other things.  Without metanoia, without a change of heart, tragedies like this will just keep happening.  And our justice system is not removed from that process of metanoia.  The Civil Rights Acts did not change the hearts and minds of Americans over night, but it did change many hearts and many minds over time.  It began the process of metanoia for people all across the country regarding racism.  George Zimmerman's conviction could have in some small way begun a similar process for a nation still struggling to recognize people of color as full human beings.

We are not to wait for God's justice when we get to heaven, we won't need it then.  God's justice starts right here and right now with our frail, limited justice.  This is where we start.  It starts with you and me holding people accountable for the evil they do so that metanoia can become a possibility for the individual and the larger society.

Trayvon, I don't care what anybody says, you did not deserve what happened to you!  May your senseless death help reveal to all of us all the evil lurking in our hearts and lead us to metanoia, lead us to a complete change of heart so that we can create a world where what happened to you will never happen to anyone else ever again. 

Following the Way,
Kevin

Bearing Witness

Bearing witness…it doesn’t seem like much and indeed it is not enough, but it’s where we begin.  It’s where the journey of bringing God’s dream of justice to the world begins.  When tragedy strikes we should resist the urge to turn our heads and look the other way, instead we should stay and bear witness to the pain, to the loss, to the suffering.  For it is only after we bear witness to such things that we are motivated to act. 

On Saturday, May 12, the brothers at SSJE hosted a vigil to remember LGBTQ youth who committed suicide and Bishop Tom Shaw gave a thoughtful sermon.  The ceremony was so beautiful and so sad.  As I knelt down to light a few candles and saw the pictures of youth who had taken their lives scattered on the floor I was shaken.  Such loss, such unnecessary loss!  Our support had arrived too late, bearing witness was the least we could do. 

And so now I invite you to join us in bearing witness to the immeasurable value of the lives lost and the fact that their deaths were totally preventable.  The God of love and compassion who sees all is inviting all of us to participate in the divine work of bearing witness to injustice wherever it appears and taking action.  Will you accept the invitation?  Will you bear witness? 

Let us not look away when our young people take their own lives.  Let us not look away when over 1000 sweat shop workers in Bangladesh die in a building collapse so we can continue to buy our trendy clothes at discounted rates.  Let us not look away when the lives of the poor all over the world are trampled upon so that the wealthiest among us can become even wealthier.  Let us bear witness to every tear, every act of violence, every life needlessly lost, every cry of injustice. And for the sake of God’s love and for the world, let us act.

Following the Way,

Kevin Vetiac

Not Enough Tears

I woke up this morning and couldn't stop crying.  Every time I thought I was done I would start back up again.  I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my face, but it's not what you think.  I am not sad.  I am not depressed.  I am overwhelmed by the faithfulness of God and the gratitude I feel deep inside reverberating through my soul, rolling like thunder in my spirit.

I recently received the news that I have been awarded a merit scholarship that covers 100% of my tuition for seminary.  It is EXACTLY what I asked God to provide and indeed God has provided.  God is faithful .  I've been fighting the call to full time ministry for a long time and resisted the call to seminary.  How can I afford to go full time when I need to pay my rent?  How can I afford tuition?  How will I be ordained afterwards?  Despite the questions the call remained so I said, "Ok God, if you want me to go to divinity school I'll go, but I don't have the money for it and I'm not taking out any more loans so you have to pay for it."  I have received God's response to this request and my soul is flooded with gratitude.

God has been so faithul and has made his presence known to me since I was a young child.  When I look back over my life and think about all God has done for me, all I can say is thank you.  Thank you for blessing me.  Thank you for keeping me.  Thank you for opening doors for me.  Thank you for making a way out of no way.  Thank you for holding me in pain, in sorrow, in loss, in loneliness, in disappointment and bringing me out.  Thank you for being faithful even when I am not.

There are not enough tears to shed, not enough words to say, not enough songs to sing to adequately express my gratitude so let my life be one big thank you to you O God.  Let every moment of my life be drenched with gratitude for your goodness.  Every time my heart beats let it say thank you.  Every time my lungs take in air let them say thank you.  And when it's time to put away this life like an old used up rag, grant me this honor and allow the last words on my lips to be: thank you.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! For his mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1

Following the Way,
Kevin

The Storms that Come

I really wish I could tell you why life can be so difficult sometimes.  I wish I had an answer that made some sense of it all.  I look around at some of the people in my life and all that they are going through and all I can think is God, I don't understand.  The friend whose job is a huge source of stress and there doesn't seem to be any other options, the pastor who's daughter was murdered at the age of  22, another friend whose precious hopes have once again been shattered.  The storms that come in life can be so painful and it's so hard watching someone you love go through a storm.

A couple of days ago a storm came through Boston.  The winds were fierce and it got me thinking.  If you look at strong, sturdy trees when a strong wind blows they look a little frazzled.  The leaves are shaking wildly and the branches are swaying.  If it's a bad enough storm a branch or two may even snap, but the roots remain in the ground.  The wind doesn't uproot the tree and toss it about.  The tree is anchored because of its roots. 

For anyone in the midst of the storms that come, may you be rooted in peace today and always.  Your leaves may shake, your branches may bend and sway and one or two may snap, but may you be rooted in the shalom that only God can offer.  May you know that no matter how the deep the pain, no matter how grave the crisis, you will NOT be uprooted and tossed about.  May God's peace anchor your soul through the storms that come until they pass over. This is my prayer for you.

Following the Way,
Kevin

A Litany Of Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to God our Father and Mother for all gifts so freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
Lord we give you thanks.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
Lord we give you thanks.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
Lord we give you thanks.

For eyes that see and ears that hear, and arms and legs that move.
Lord we give you thanks.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
Lord we give you thanks.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
Lord we give you thanks.

For the breath of God within us that causes us to be and makes our mortal bodies God’s dwelling place,

Lord we give you thanks.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
Lord we give you thanks.

For all who hunger and thirst for justice, truth and righteousness,
Lord we give you thanks.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
Lord we give you thanks.

For tears and how you use them to water the soil of our faith,

Lord we give you thanks.

For unexpected loss that causes us to stop and reflect and realize what’s important,

Lord we give you thanks.

For meeting you in silence when there are no words to say,

Lord we give you thanks.

For joy and laughter and moments of wonder,

Lord we give you thanks.

For this community and everyone in it and all of the blessings they bring,

Lord we give you thanks.

Following the Way,

Kevin 

A Guided Meditation on Gratitude

This is a guided meditation I led at my church.  May it speak to your heart also.

I’m feeling incredibly broken right now.  In the past 6 months 2 people that I know have been shot and killed.  Both young women in their twenties and both from the church I was very involved in for seven years.  On Tuesday I found out a friend from college has cancer.  And in addition to all of that I’ve been processing some heavy personal disappointments of my own.  It is quite fitting that I am here tonight to talk about gratitude because if I am only able to say thank you to God when everything is going well than my thank you doesn’t really mean anything.  If gratitude is something I only express when everything is going according to plan than it can never become a spiritual practice that becomes life giving and life changing.

Someone recently asked me why am I so drawn to gratitude and I struggled to articulate an answer.  The best way that I can put it is that the ability to cultivate gratitude has saved my life.  Some of us have had many, many things go wrong in our lives and I am one of them.  As someone with a history of depression sometimes I become overwhelmed.  For me being depressed is like being locked into a pitch black room.  There are no windows, no doors.  It’s totally dark and I can’t see.  I can’t see God. I can’t see the ones around me.  It’s so dark I can’t even see myself.  But when I find something in my life to be grateful for and give thanks light comes into the room and I can see again.  The doors open and I can be reached.  I can be reached by God.  I can be reached by those who love me. I can be reached by joy even in the midst of pain.

Guided Meditation:

I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath.  Think about a painful situation in your life for a moment.  Acknowledge it.  Feel the weight of it.  Take it all in.  Now search for something good even in that situation.  Is there any good to be found?  Is there anything to be grateful for?  Find it and focus on it.  Take a deep breath and as you breathe, breathe in gratitude.  Without ignoring the pain, focus on what you’re grateful for and breathe in gratitude.  With every breath let if fill you; let it fill your body and soul.  Let gratitude fill the thoughts of that painful situation and bring in its light. Take another breath.  Take another breath.  Allow your heart to rest in this place of gratitude. Carry this gratitude with you throughout your day.

Following the Way,

Kevin