Deep Breath.

How are we feeling?

As the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King will soon be celebrated on – ironically – the same day of the Inauguration of the next President of the United States, there are those of us who are:

• Tuning out the tsunami of personal, natural, and political disasters brewing everywhere.
• Half-listening to the news. (Is there a fire happening in California right now?“)
• Feeling overwhelmed by the tsunami of personal, natural, and political disasters brewing everywhere.

The young man who believed that Hillary Clinton was involved in child trafficking in Comet Ping Pong Pizza in DC has died after being shot during a traffic stop just down the road from where I live. He served four years in prison for shooting an assault weapon in the restaurant and threatening their employees.

There was a NYT article in November 2016 announcing that – in light of the misinformation that led one young man to drive all the way from NC to a DC pizza restaurant to address fictitious stories about kidnapping and molesting children – Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg promised “to work on technology tools to slow the gusher of false digital information.” But this week, Zuckerberg announced that he would end efforts to fact check Facebook and Instagram after giving $1 million to celebrate the inauguration of the next President on MLK’s official birthday.

See what I mean? The world spins and it’s often chaotic and painful.

How are we feeling?

As I type this, the same President who will ostensibly swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States in less than two weeks has been sentenced without prison time on 34 felonies. According to the Associated Press, the judge could have sentenced him to four years in prison – the same sentence that Edgar Welch served for shooting up the pizza restaurant because he believed in utterly false conspiracy theories. Those conspiracy theories were created by supporters of the former and future President.

Breathe.

Between all this and the ordinary realities of life – beloved old dogs who are slowing down, and elderly loved ones who are slowing down, and church conflicts that are breaking God’s heart and our hearts, and ongoing recovery efforts after wars and flooding and random shootings – I still cling to the God who separated the waters at Creation and the waters of the Exodus. I still believe in the God who weeps with us, particularly in the Person of Jesus whose presence continues to be among us. I still believe that there is a Spirit that moves people like Jimmy Carter, who could have rested on his laurels after serving as President, but instead focussed on serving the poor and vulnerable. The Holy Spirit did that.

Do we trust in God or do we not?

Sometimes it’s all we can do. But I deeply believe that the God who is paying attention (and miraculously has not obliterated this foolish planet) calls us to pay attention too.

I get it: it would be easy to tune out and maybe we need to do that for a bit. But as long as the LORD is still present in this world, we are called to be present. Breathe. Tend to the hurting. Try to listen to our enemies. Try to love even the unlovable. Breathe some more.