Friends,

Yesterday, my sermon focused on the surprising meaning of a 6th-Century BCE scrap of real estate history -- the prophet Jeremiah, after decades of prophesying doom, releases his hold on that story just as the doom is about to come to pass. He lets go of that story and claims hope for the future, with prophetic performance art: the practical action of buying a field. You can listen to the sermon here.

This story has direct relevance to what I hear from so many of you and feel deeply myself -- a sense of despair that we are powerless to stop the authoritarian government we see now in the United States. I shared research from Erica Chenoweth, linked below, to offer hope: it takes fewer people than you might think, acting together, to help the silent majority withdraw its cooperation from an authoritarian regime.

Jeremiah's claim to the deeper story -- that God's dream of shalom is greater than all empires and authoritarians -- is what we stand on today, too. And because we trust that God's love prevails, we can offer our own performance art for God's kingdom, where we are, with what we have.

So: what story do you need to release in order to trust that God's vision of shalom will prevail? How could you practice the way of Jesus in this historic moment? What's the (metaphorical) field you can buy, where you are, with what you have?

With love,
Susan+

Dig into Erica Chenoweth's Research
Here are a few links to get you started:
Video: The Science of Protest, on the Civic Forum
Podcast: Why Protest Works, on We Can Do Hard Things
Website: ericachenoweth.com/research

Tags: politics, Despair, Hope, Rev Susan