Monday Meditation
Today I remember thatwe are all children of God,
none deserving death
at the hands of another.
Today I remember
the heinous way we treat each other;
the discarded lives of
those called to service
as a reminder that
war is never the answer.
Today I remember that
I have a choice to make:
I can serve the war machine
of my government
and its corporate overlords,
or I can serve God
and choose peaceful resistance.
I can pretend there is an enemy,
or I can hold my neighbor in my arms
and shower them with love.
Today I remember
my grandparents
who died fighting against
an enemy their parents created.
I remember my brothers and sisters
fighting against an enemy
our parents created.
I remember the endless cycle
of enemy creation, war,
defeat, repeat,
and I renew my vow
as a follower of Jesus the pacifist,
to oppose the cycle of vengeance
and grind it to a halt forever
by refusing to participate in its
systemic evils.
Today I remember
that enemies only exist
when we lie to each other;
steal from each other;
cheat each other out of
our fair share
of the planet’s resources.
I remember that
this world’s bounty
were never meant to belong
to one person or one country,
but instead was given by God
to all of us,
to be cared for,
nurtured,
and shared equally.
Today I remember
that war will cease
when it is no longer profitable;
that hatred will liquefy into nothingness
when fear is vanquished;
that love will transform the world
when hearts,
instead of pocketbooks,
are opened.
Today I remember
a world that is yet to come,
a tomorrow that yearns to be discovered,
a dream of hope, peace, and love
too great for any military machine to destroy.
For it is God’s great dream,
alive in all of us who remember,
that no matter the oppressor,
God sets us free, not war.
Love sets us free, not revenge.
Today I remember
that in God, we are one,
and as one, we are God.
May it be so.
