Repairing the Past

“We’ll be victorious—not because we will never again know defeat but because we will never again sow division…Being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into, and how we repair it.” – Amanda Gorman, Inaugural Poet
It’s a new day and I’m so full of hope. We have indeed “come over a way that with tears have been watered,” and I’m ready for something new to grow. Our healing is at hand, but you and I know that healing requires truth, for only the truth will set us free. So, I hope reconciliation will include reparations, and overhauling our policing and justice systems. I hope unity will mean people of good will and moral courage coming together around a common vision—God’s dream of Shalom. And I pray that any new accord will be grounded in accountability—to tear down the white supremacy, Christian hegemony, violence and xenophobia woven into the fabric of our democracy.
We are called to lead in this movement of love and justice, family. That’s why God has helped us build this gorgeous multiethnic, multifaith, multigender, multi-everything coalition: Not so we can hoard that love and beauty for ourselves but so we can share it with the world. In a moment that so deeply requires revolutionary love, we have so much treasure to offer.
That’s why I was so grateful to pray at this morning’s inaugural prayer service—joining with incredible leaders of many faith traditions. I carried the prophetic love of this community on my shoulders, knowing it speaks a blessing through me—that the world might look a little bit more like Middle. You can watch the incredible celebration at the link below. I pray right after Rev. Barber’s sermon.

Come Sunday I’ll be preaching live, “Now Is The Time” to seize our democratic birthright—to build a nation that delivers the promise America has withheld from far too many. Together, we will celebrate how, in the words of Arundhati Roy, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
I hear her breathing in you, Middle, and am so grateful to be joined in loving, hopeful breath together.
Embrace your hope. We need you!
-Jacqui
P.S. If you didn’t see it yesterday, watch this beautiful video of our community ringing for freedom! While I’m sad we couldn’t ring our Liberty Bell, there’s something about voices joined in rapturous joy that seems even more fitting for this auspicious moment.