Words, They Matter!

The words of my mom came to me as I wrestled with this writing. If memory serves me correctly, we were on a family trip to California. The radio was on in the car and Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain began to play. Mom was in the back seat and she told us to change the station because she did not care for the song. You see, mom was one who not only said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” she lived it. I have often said I never heard my mom say a curse word, I am not even sure she thought them. I certainly never heard her speak ill of anyone. I am sure she wasn’t perfect; however, you couldn’t prove it by me.

And then there is this prophetic task to which I believe I am called. I think about the prophetic tradition of which I am a part. Reading the Hebrew prophets, I am not sure the idea of “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” was something they practiced with a lot of success.

I find myself in this uncomfortable tension of late, regarding the current state of our country, our culture, our government, and in particular our administration and president. I feel caught in the life lesson my mom and my dad raised me with, the notion words matter. The words we say and how we say them matter. I have learned along with that the old saying, “Sticks and stones my break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is not true. Words used wrongly hurt, tear down, destroy, they can even inspire others to kill. Words matter!

I am caught between that gift of grace that defined my mom and the frustration and even anger I feel when I hear words being leveled from the highest levels of our government that not only demean and belittle their intended targets, but demean, belittle, and tarnish the office from which they come.

I have written bits and pieces about this dilemma before; however, it has been weighing heavy on my heart and soul of late and need to get it out. There comes a time, a colleague of mine once said, when gentle words no long work. There comes a time, a colleague of mine once said, agreeing to disagree is not longer palatable. There comes a time when one needs to stand up, speak up, and simply speak truth to power and say, “No. You are wrong!”

The struggle began in the campaign leading up to the election when, our now president, mocked a Vietnam War hero, mocked a disabled journalist, and evidence released of his objectifying women. It only grew worse when he encouraged attendees of his rallies to punch someone and he would pay for their legal fees. Since he has been in office it has only continued.

Mr. President, you are wrong. It is one thing to disagree with members of congress, senators, community leaders in the nation you are sworn to support. It is one thing to disagree with world leaders and dignitaries as you represent our country around the world. It is quite another to use words and language that demeans, belittles, attacks, and targets persons for who they are and for where they are from. You are wrong to use your language to incite bigotry and division in our own country. You are wrong to suggest there are both good and bad among white supremacists. Mr. President you are wrong to demean a city in the country you are sworn to represent by derogatory language of rat-infested communities. Mr. President the divisive and vitriol words you use influence those who take you seriously and are dangerous for our country and its citizens. Mr. President, your continued tweets and diminishing language is beneath the dignity of the office to which you were elected. It saddens me to hear and read of your continued inflammatory words. It weighs heavy on me daily to listen to those who support you dismiss your often hateful and derogatory words.

All this being said, I was raised by two loving parents who taught me there is good in everyone. And there is still a part of me that wants to believe there is something within you that knows what you say is wrong. It is. I also believe in the power of our citizens and know in the end, right, compassion, justice, equality, diversity, grace, and love will endure and prevail. I will pray for you. I will love you, Mr. President. My love will be in the form of resistance and calling you to account. I pray others will join me in this kind of resistant love that stands and speaks and says, “No! You are wrong!” when you are. It will also be one that acknowledges when you do the right thing.

In the tenor of my mom’s teaching…one can call another to account, one can stand up and speak up and say to another they are wrong, without the belittling and hateful language coming from our highest office. I will continue to strive for this goal. I pray you would too.

Rise. Resist. Prevail.

Be a Light. Love One Another. Until there are no others, only one beloved community of All.

Rev. Kent H. Little

We Can Be Better in 2019

I am here in the continued afterglow of the Season… of Christmas Eve Services, study, writing, sons and daughters-in-law, and three perfect granddaughters, life is good here in the Little home. It is New Year’s Eve day and I have been pondering this year past and what the new year might hold. I am hopeful about many things, and I am frustrated about many things as well.

My frustrations come from many venues. However, I think right now my main frustration is my continued attempts to understand our current administration and our President as well as those who so adamantly support him. I write this not to look for an argument or a debate, but mostly to vent a little and continue to try and understand. I watched as he mocked a disabled person, a war hero and former prisoner of war, a veteran’s family, women, promoted violence against those who would oppose him at rallies and found myself in disbelief that we would elect such a one.

Since his election I have watched and listened to him continue to diminish our allies, our courts, and our federal law enforcement agencies. Refusing to take advice from his advisors on things such as Syria or his own party on the proposed border wall. I have found myself rather aghast at his hesitation, or even seeming refusal to denounce white supremacy groups. His policies continue to threaten the safety of those who seek asylum in our country from other parts of the world that threaten life and livelihood. The list grows ever longer of things I see as injustice, xenophobic, a threat to the common good of all, and just honesty in general. Just recently he compared the wall he wishes to build on our border with Mexico with the ten-foot wall around President Obama’s current home…a wall that does not exist.

I know many who support President Trump, so much so to the point, it almost seems it doesn’t matter what he does or says. I want to understand, I really do, but now after listening to his speeches and reading news stories for nearly three years, I still cannot seem to wrap my head around what we were thinking or what he is thinking. I cannot decide if he is really just trying to distract the country, and if so, distract us from what or if he is just being intentionally obtuse. I see the struggle in our country and I think of a favorite movie of mine, Remember the Titans, and the struggle the team was having to come together at one point, Gerry tells Julius he needs to fix his attitude, Julius responds, “Attitude reflects leadership.” I don’t know, maybe that applies to us today, our leader is a mess…and thus…so are we.

All this being said, as 2019 rolls into the present, I will continue to keep President Trump in my prayers, our country in my prayers, and our world in my prayers. I will pray for understanding as I continue my unwillingness to settle and my commitment to actively resist any policy diminishing the poor, oppressed, discriminated against and the least of these in our midst.

With the continued struggle of the last few years I am still hopeful. I am hopeful because I find myself to be one who must be. I will continue to try and understand and listen more. However, I refuse to let fear, distrust, chaos, injustice, and violence of word and deed be a directing force in my life.

I believe, whether we are people part of a community of faith or not, we are all called as a community of humankind to be our brother’s and sister’s keeper…ALL of them, and especially those who are the poorest and most vulnerable among us. It takes all of us, yet the division that continues to be driven like a wedge among our fellow humankind in our country and our world will in the end destroy us unless we come together.

However, I believe more in the Kindom, the Beloved Community dreamed of by one of our finest…I believe in our country and our founding documents, I believe more in who we have been and who we can become more than I believe in who our current administration and government are. I refuse to believe we are stuck in this descending spiral of vitriol and disrespect. I am willing to extend a hand and have the difficult conversations to find a way out of this fog of disillusion.

We can be better in this 2019.

My hand is here. My heart is here. Let us begin again on this New Year.

Rev. Kent H. Little

An Open Letter to My Granddaughter on the Occasion of Her Birth

Dear Kadee,
It is now near a day and a half since you were born and I am struggling to find the words to write and say. I am a bit speechless and yet one day you will know as with any preacher that does not last long. I am sitting alone in the dining room of our home with a cup of coffee with only my thoughts and a picture of you before me on the table, as your Grammy is already with you. I have yet to hold you but I can already sense your warm smooth skin, your sweet fragrance, and the softness of the new born hair on your head. I already know you are the most beautiful and loved baby there is, that is Poppie talk and you’ll need to get used to it as will anyone else who happens to overhear.

This morning as I ponder the world into which you have been born I want to share some thoughts, wisdom, and other comments with you within this first letter. Our world is filled with a lot of scary things. There are wars being fought over religion and territory. There are people who claim to speak for God who commit atrocities against their fellow humankind without thought or remorse. There are people in our own country who want to retaliate in a kind of eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth mentality that only perpetuates more war and violence.

There are people in our own country, in our own government, even in our churches who would do violence to another, discriminate against them, call others names, and deny them legal, civil, and human rights for no other reason than for who they love, the color of their skin, the state of their finances, the religion they practice or lack thereof, and Kadee, in the world we live in today there are those who would deny you rights and privileges and freedoms simply because you were born a little girl.

Dearest Kadee, I know you cannot read this yet, I hope someday you do and it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I hope you read this when you are a young woman and say, “Poppie, really? People used to do those things to others? That is so sad and I’m glad it is not that way any longer.” I do not write these words to scare you; I would never do such a thing. I write these words to apologize. I am sorry. I am sorry we are not able to welcome you into a world in which equality and justice for all are the rule of the day. I am sorry we who have come before you continue to screw things up so badly for those who would come after us. It is not fair, but please do not be afraid.

I write this note to you on a cool September morning as the sun begins to break over the eastern horizon. This letter to you is a hope-filled promise and reassurance. As the days carry on I want you to know for all the scary stuff that is out there it is still a good world. This is a beautiful world filled with the very Presence of God, with grace and love and music and harmony, it is just that sometimes it takes a little extra effort to find it and embrace it.

There are still those who believe and fight for equality and justice and right. There are still those out there who know what it is to love unconditionally and strive to make this world a better place. I want you to know Kadee I try to be one of those persons and as of September 13th I have one more very special reason to continue the fight and promise to you to do my best to leave this world a little better than I found it, not only for you and for all those who are like you and just beginning.

Kadee, you have been born to incredible, grace-filled, loving parents, your mom and dad will immerse you in the very unconditional love of the Spirit. You will be surrounded by so many family and friends who will love you unconditionally, of that I have no doubt! That love, I pray, will nurture you into whatever kind of dreams you are able to dream, into whatever kind of magnificent woman you choose to be. But I get ahead of myself and now I am dreaming of what might be rather than what is and who you are in this moment.

I’m going to close now, precious little one, and get on with my day looking forward to that moment this afternoon when I can wrap you in my own arms, kiss your face, and hear you breathe and coo. Your Poppie will always love you, always, no matter what and there is nothing you can do about it.

One additional note Kadee, I am publishing this note to you in our church newsletter and on my blog because not only do I hope all these things for you, but I pray every day all of us, the church, our society and culture, universally will one day embrace such a world where justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream, a world where love and justice for all is the rule rather than the exception, a world where all means all. May it be so. May it be soon.

May you always have Peace and Light for your Journey,

Poppie