Some Oservations on Our Humanity

There is a cliché floating around where it has been floating for decades:

 

Man's Inhumanity to Man

 

Obviously, it needs to updated to eliminate gender bias because inhumanity crosses all gender lines and ethnic and social divides.

 

Someone told me they were really tired of reading all the bad news in the papers and online.

 

So, I told them to go out and make better news for someone to report.

 

If you don't like the world as it is, change it!

 

We have seen the best and the worst in humanity, but we have never seen the best that we can be.

 

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Anyone who doubts my optimism about living a long life should take a look at the dates on my mortgage.

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How much failure did you predict in your life? How much did He predict? More than you think. How much does he forgive? More than you think.

 

" And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept." - Mark 14:72 ESV

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"It is this simple: if I never try anything, I never learn anything." ~Hugh Prather

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On this day in 1939 – Adolf Hitler signs an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people.

 

We must never forget the atrocities that human beings are capable of inflicting upon other thinking, feeling, vulnerable human beings in the service of what they consider a "higher cause."

We must grow in grace.

We must grow in the depth of our spiritual and emotional sensitivity to others.

We must grow in empathy.

We must grow to know and reflect the heart of God.

We must become more human in the truest sense of humanity.

Our maturing relationship with eternity and humanity in humility is necessary for avoiding the travesties and atrocities for which humans have been responsible.

Pause.

P - Pursue something deeper for a moment than your own survival or gratification.

A - Acknowledge that there is a reality beyond our own.

U - Understand something of your own pain and reflect upon the reality that your pain connects you to the pain of the world.

S - Sympathize, for a moment, with the hurts of someone who is not like you, not of your tribe, and not of your persuasion.

E - Enter into another person life, experience, joy, sorrow, and struggle for long enough that it causes you discomfort.

Pause and connect. Pause and pray. Pause and deepen your understanding. Pause and rescue the world a little from a rapid decline into debauchery.

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There are better examples of humanity.

 

On this day in 1173 – The widow Stamira sacrifices herself in order to raise the siege of Ancona by the forces of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Her city was under siege. A barrel of pitch was rolled out to the enemy lines where their armaments were. It was too dangerous to light it, however, and no one dared venture for, except one widow. She did so and was consumed in the process.

Her act of bravery and sacrifice bought her city enough time to survive the siege until help arrived.

Read more here: https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095501/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/ancona.htm

 

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On this day in 1532 we were reminded to leave this final evaluation of our fortunes to the day of outcomes – Lady Anne Boleyn is made Marquess of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII of England.

 

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It is nice to know that I need not always be right... since I am often not.

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The 4 responses to injustice as we seek & work for Shalom:

 

• compassion

• development

• advocacy & organizing

• presence & intervention"

 

- Nikki Toyama-Szeto

 

 

Hebrews 13:3 - Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

 

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Where Do We Connect with the Best Possibilities of Our Humanity?

 

Job asks,

"Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see?" -Job 10:4

The answer is embedded in the message of the Incarnation.

Yes. God enters into our perspective to see, feel, and experience our experiences.

He is transcended, immanent, present, knowing, and caring.

Let's start a conversation with God about becoming more human.