So I do prattle on (mostly to myself) about being a missionary of in the dark world that social media has become. There are a lot of frightened people out there irrespective of red or blue, black or white, Christian, Muslim, Jew or Atheist, and that fear, that darkness is transmitted and amplified by our digital additions to reality. 

So what’s a missionary to do? Well, try to offer some comfort, some perspective, some path forward.

What I have to offer is deeply informed by the fact that I am my father’s son. Lester Glick had the widest definition of family of anyone I’ve ever known or read or heard about. His definition? Apparently, it was everybody. Every single body on this spinning blue ball. All God’s children, one big family whether they believed in God or not. Dad was ready to invite anyone into his home, to offer them sustenance of one sort or another as a family member.

And I think that’s the way forward. Not better borders, more distance, more artificial differences, but fewer borders, less distance, more commonality. Everybody is family. Every single person on this green earth is family irrespective of their political, religious or other personal beliefs.

Lord knows having family can be a mixed blessing. We don’t always get along, or play nice with each other, but we’re still all family. To paraphrase Robert Frost, Family is where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

There is a path forward and it doesn’t involve contributing to our national shouting match. The path forward is about finding our inner peace and resilience no matter how imperfect (and it will always be imperfect) and pouring that out on the world.

Each of us has a spark of something divine, something transcendent in us, some peace and light and joy to offer the world. We are the shepherds, the divine presence made immanent

We are our shepherds. We shall resist want in our flock. We aspire to green pastures and still waters to nourish us. We shall seek to restore our hearts and to walk in our common paths. Even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear evil for we go together and our words and our ways can be a comfort to us. On this day, on every day let us lay a shared table before us, even in the face of every trouble. Let us place our healing hands on us and be overwhelmed with gratitude. If we do, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in our common house, forever.

Shanti, y’all.