Happy Monday, friends! Teresa of Ávila wrote, “Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” Whatever your theology, whatever your politics, you must admit we’re living in a crazy time. Laws are being proposed to ban books, to take away essential rights, and to do all types of things from the productive to the unhinged. It would be easy to wring our hands, make excuses, and lift it all up to God in prayer. Sometimes it’s simpler to believe in a God who will do what we can’t or who will act when we feel like we can’t act.
I was recently having a tense conversation with an friend who identifies as an atheist and can’t understand why I would root my work and my organizing in religion, particularly in Christianity. My answer—about following the example of Jesus and being God’s hands and feet in the world—made my friend groan and ask how I could call myself a believer if I didn’t think God could act in the world. God can do great things in the world, but God does not have to act in the most extreme ways. Remember, when the prophet Elijah was waiting on God, God was not in the storms or the wind, God visited Elijah in the small voice of calm. God could act in a major revelation or God can act through us. This is indeed one of the reasons why we feel such a visceral reaction when politicians (who have the power to act) only offer their “thoughts and prayers.” It’s also why we need more Christians to stand up to Christian nationalism and the weaponizing of our faith against the LGBTQIA+ community.
Where do you feel called to be God’s hands and God’s feet? Where do you hear God’s still small voice?
Let us pray: God who has no hands and no feet in the world but ours, yet who can act in the most profound and powerful ways, guide us as we act to make your will known in the world. Protect us as we speak out for justice and confront those who would use our faith and your words for evil. May we be the people who bring your love to anyone who doesn’t feel it. Amen.
Blessings on your week, my friends! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
Faithfully,
Ben