Weeping

This past Sunday, Parisa introduced evil back into our Universalist campaign for an outloving Love. She referenced a memorable anecdote about an elderly gentleman who approached her years ago in the receiving line with the words: 'It's good to be reminded of evil from time to time.' The privilege of having to be reminded!

Do you have to be reminded? Or are you reminded in more regular intervals?


A quick scan of the New York Times renders evil into sharp relief: a bloated budget, continual rocket fire, rampant nuclear contamination, vicious immigration woes, the list goes on. Some of us may confront evil in more immediate and personal ways, on the job, in the streets, by word of mouth. I imagine that for most, evil rears its head in masked forms, hiding in cultures and institutions of which we are a part.


Liberal religion has always struggled to strike an adequate balance between the divine and the demonic. Our affirmation of human goodness has at times dangerously sidestepped the truth of human badness. Distancing ourselves from the original sin of the Fall, we have neglected to admit and atone for the many Falls we make in our daily lives.


In the words of poet Anne Porter:

We're still in Babylon but

We do not weep

Why should we weep?

We have forgotten

How to weep



We must not forget to weep. And we must not forget that weeping can be one of the holiest responses to evil. Yes, we should stand up, speak out, overturn. But deep healing begins with shedding tears: allowing ourselves feel the waves of anger and sorrow and fear wash over us, even purify us, and then let them go.


"My tears are my food day and night" (Psalm 42:3).


Please: continue the conversation.