Receiving Love
What are the tools that you have to pull down the mountains and raise the valleys and build the world you wish to see?
Luke 3:10-11
“And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”
In this time of world unrest and fear, I find myself so frequently stuck in overwhelm on the onslaught of injustice all happening at once. What cause(s) do I follow? Where do I put my energy, time, and work? How do we anticipate and prepare ourselves for what is coming next? Who do we trust? I find people increasingly turning inward, insulating ourselves for safety. To be clear, I am not critiquing people’s safety needs; however, I do believe that we need more community connection and active love for survival. What do we do? We see the person who needs a coat and recognize that we have two. We share our food when we have plenty.
But sharing when we have plenty also implies the opposite - accepting when others share with us.
A friend was recently pointing out the coldness of the self-sufficiency of white culture. We don’t want to “interfere” when we see people struggling; we don’t want to “take charity” when we ourselves are struggling; we often suffer in isolation and shame. I have learned most of my lessons in community care from women of color and the queer community.
We need to deconstruct the whiteness of independence in our church and social communities. I wonder how the practice of talking more openly about our needs and our fears might allow those in our lives to love us? What might it look like for you to have the humility to accept the love of help and support this Advent?
What are the tools that you have to pull down the mountains and raise the valleys and build the world you wish to see?