Ours is NOT a Caravan of Despair

I spent last night with my soul sister Kym, 300 or so strangers, and Nadia Bolz-Webber. It was a remarkable night.

Nadia is currently on her “Red State Revival” tour. This tattooed, jeans-clad, t-shirt wearing Lutheran pastor is traveling through the South, encouraging her fellow liberal progressive Christians to “Believe Out Loud.”

“Aren’t you just preaching to the choir?” she was asked. “I am 100% preaching to the choir because the choir needs to not lose heart right now!”

In fact, the evening started with “choir practice.” Those of us who love to sing came 45 minutes early to rehearse the songs she would lead the congregation to sing during the 2.5 hour service to come. We sang old familiar hymns like What A Friend We Have In Jesus, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. We sang a chorus I’ve never heard based on a Rumi poem I’ve never read:

Come, come whoever you are.

Wanderer, Worshipper, Lover of Leaving.

Ours is no caravan of despair.

Come, come again, come.

That one line – “Ours is no caravan of despair” – resonated with me all night long. Because, you see, “Caravan of Despair” feels like an appropriate title for my experience of the first 30 days of the new president’s administration.

As a person of faith who believes in putting the needs of others above my own needs, caring for the broken, the sick, the unhoused, the poor, the widow – for me and others like me, these days have been heartbreaking , gut-wrenching even. So much progress toward justice, equality, equity, basic human kindness has been undone in the last 4 weeks. Chaos and misinformation and down-right power grabs dominate the news while the leaders I have trusted to have my back remain silent.

Nadia, on the other hand, reminded us last night that the Gospel of Jesus has outlasted many, many days like these. She said “the only way to overcome White Christian Nationalism is to believe in the thing that will outlast it – the Good News of Jesus.”

“God’s ability to make things right is always stronger than our ability to get things wrong.”

“With one hand reaching back to the prophets of old and one hand reaching forward to the promises of God, we can stand firm in the present.”

“Now is the time for us to live our faith out loud so the voice of Christian Nationalism is not the only voice people hear.”

“Do you know how many people died yesterday who would give anything for the chance to live this day?”

In a nod back to old-time revivals, Nadia gave her testimony. She began by describing her mother Peggy’s faith (gotta love a mother named Peggy and her faith!) - singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” before Nadia was born - believing that God would help her deliver safely this baby doctors said wouldn’t survive. She went on telling about all the different versions of Jesus who showed up in her life. I’ve never been a drug-addicted activist, but I absolutely recognized each description of the Son of God. He’s shown up in my life too - in so many, many different ways.

Nadia told us about 3 questions she was given by a teacher. These 3 questions are guiding her life right now.

1. What is mine to do and not mine to do?

2. What is mine to say and not mine to say?

3. What is mine to care about and not mine to care about?

Then, she says, once we’ve done, said, and cared about what is ours to do, say and care about, we pray for the humility to rest.

I’ve got more thinking to do on these things. I need to – as the good book says – ponder these things in my heart. Nadia’s advice is to consume 80% less internet and focus on real life. “When I feel like the world is full of hate, I need to power off my phone and computer for a week, live in my real life with real people and then re-evaluate. How much hate is there in my actual life? Not very much.” Not very much at all.

What is mine to do, say and care about? What is not mine?

These feel like important questions in difficult times. I absolutely need to stay engaged. But I also need to only do, say and care about what is mine. The rest I need to trust to the Great God of the Universe. I don’t have to know it all. I don’t have to panic. God really is “bigger than the boogie man.”

We closed the night singing another new song. This was written the night after the 2016 election by a woman named Melanie DeMore.

You’ve got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with love.

One foot in front of the other and lead with love.

Don’t give up hope. You’re not alone. Don’t you give up. Keep moving on.

Lift up your eyes. Don’t you despair. Look up ahead. The path is there.

Amen and amen and amen. Ours is not a caravan of despair. We’ve got to keep walking friends. Jesus is already ahead of us in the future – we’re going to be alright.

Nakupenda Sana. Bwana Asifiwe.

Cathy