Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 114
TONIGHT begins a 3-part series on Change, featuring Rabbi Ed Feinstein and me. To get the zoom link, please go to the Melton Website and join in with us as we talk about Change, Forgiveness, and this Holy Day Season
Staying with the Ashamnu Prayer, in order to have a true picture of our Self, we the people have to look at the ways we have stayed TRUE to our Principles, our Values, our covenantal relationship with God as told to us through the Bible, the words of Jesus, the path of peace of Mohammed, etc. This is an interesting dilemma for me, because if someone’s principles are to rape, rob, pillage and they continue to do this-are they staying ‘true’ to their ‘principles’? There are many of we the people who do this and proclaim their congruence and wrap themselves in the flag of Freedom.
Of course this is not what is meant by staying true to our covenantal relationship with God, no matter what the Lying, idol-worshipping, money-grabbing, land stealing, ‘religious people/clergy’ say! When I am speaking about staying TRUE to principles, values, God, I am speaking about the ones we find in the Bible, in the words of the prophets, in Jesus’ ways, etc. In other words, I am talking about loyalty to something greater than our own self-interests, realizing that serving God, Truth, Love, Holiness, kindness, loving the stranger, caring for the needy and poor, etc are the foundation of a “good life”, a Godly life, a Spiritual life. Seeing the ways We the People have lived into these is crucial for our mental, physical, and spiritual health as we begin the final stretch towards Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is 20 days until YK and 10 days until RH, it is TIME TO BEGIN to see ourselves in our entirety, to realign our whole selves into Holy-selves, to repair the mistakes we keep making over and over again-both wittingly and unwittingly, with great reasoning and with lazy reasoning.
Our political, business principles are proud of their lying, their money-grabbing, their “care about the stockholders”, the lobbyists who bribe me, etc Ethics and Principles while proclaiming their love of Jesus, their adherence to the Bible, and being DEAF to the words of the prophets, ignoring the powers of compassion, forgiveness, judgment, kindness that are so overwhelming in this moment. To those of we the people who believe fervently in the misuse of the Bible, the misuse of Jesus’ words, the misuse of the Koran, We the People must have a new response to! It is not the response of going to the other end of the spectrum, it is not the response of hatred and disdain, it is not the response of seeing them as less than human. I hear the words of Jesus ringing in my ears right now: “Forgive them for they know not what they do”. While forgiveness cannot be granted until someone asks for it, makes their amends, etc, letting go of resentment can happen and this is one of the principles of compassion and kindness that is so prevalent right now. Letting go of the resentment is in line with the prophets’ continuous call to “return” to “heal your backsliding”, to knowing our fallibility, our imperfections, our vulnerabilities and GOD WANTS US BACK! We the People cannot return while holding onto resentments, holding onto hatred for a person, “hate the sin, not the sinner” as the New Testament says, “love your enemies” as the Bible teaches.
Looking at the myriad of ways we have stayed True to the principles and values that God holds dear, that the Bible speaks about reminds us, as does this week’s Torah Portion, Nitzavim, to CHOOSE LIFE! This moment in this month of Elul, in this year of 5786, the 20th day of 40, gives us the gift of seeing our WHOLE SELVES and, just like when we received the Torah at Sinai, just like when the entire Bible was complied and codified, We the People when we SEE our WHOLE selves, can make more informed choices as to how to CHOOSE LIFE in each and every situation, knowing we are prone to messing it up, making mistakes, and repairing them quicker, lessening the mistakes and their severity each year.
I have been doing this ‘work’ of Elul for the past 39 years and, like every other year, I find the same mistakes, the same ‘missing the marks’ rear their ugly heads and I get frustrated with myself. The biggest difference is I know it is me, not anyone else, who causes my errors, causes my betrayals, AND causes my Loyalty to God, to Principles, using my Prophetic Inheritance and Voice better each year. I still am outraged at the Desecration of God’s Name that is happening impunity!! I am still bewildered at the lack of truth that is rampant in the world today-I think maybe more than at any time and I could be wrong. I am worried for my grandson, my grand-nieces and nephews that the world I am leaving to them is so much worse than the one I inherited. I also know my siblings and I are leaving them a legacy of decency, of principles, of standing up for what is right, what is true, what is holy.
ACTION STEP:
Write a list of the principles you hold dear and how you have lived into them this year.
God Bless, Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark