As I reflected on Pentecost and on Psalm 104 for this morning, these words emerged and became my prayer, my meditation and motivation, and I invite you to say with me, breathing together after each line and moving/holding our bodies however is helpful for staying grounded:
Breath. Language. Movement. Bodies. Lungs. Muscles. Burning. Living. Mourning. BLACK. LIVES. MATTER.
Blessings/challenges for the GMC community: Breath: May we remember and remind each other to take some precious breaths, let the Spirit breathe in us, and grieve for those who have not been allowed to breathe, those who feel they cannot breathe, and fight for the right for every one of us to be able to breathe freely Bodies: May we remember and remind each other to take tender care of our bodies, let the Spirit be embodied in us, and be willing to put our bodies in harm’s way for the sake of others and/or ask for what we need to protect and care for our bodies Burning: May we seek out and support each other in ways to set unjust systems on fire, let the Spirit burn in us, grieve for people rather than property, and hold onto that hope which is there at the core of burning rage BLACK: May we use our breath, bodies, and burning rage and hope to join with the Spirit of God who is already working to bring into being a world where BLACK. LIVES. MATTER. Language: May we seek to understand each other’s languages of grief, of love, let the Spirit open our ears to hear, to truly listen to each other’s suffering, each other’s hopes, each other’s needs and gifts and creativity and joy, especially Black joy! Lungs/Lips: May we seek to use our lungs and our lips to speak truth, let the Spirit fill our lungs, so we can project and amplify the voices of those who are oppressed until everyone can hear and understand and internalize where we need to change Living: May we seek to live with intention and risky courage, let the Spirit enliven us every day, even as we grieve for lives cut short, reach out to support and ask for support when the will to live seems dim, until we can truly all live in peace LIVES: May we use our language capacity, our lung capacity, our everyday living, to join with the Spirit of God who is already working to bring into being a world where BLACK. LIVES. MATTER. Movement: May we find community circles to move with, let the Spirit move us to action, listening and learning from the movements of children, young people, and elders who have experience and wisdom in movements of struggle for justice Muscles: May we build muscles for sitting with discomfort, let the Spirit flex Her/Their muscles in us, and let those whose muscles are weary rest Mourning: May we mourn the losses and pain we each have suffered, as well as the pain we have inflicted, let the Spirit mourn and grieve in us, so that we can begin to heal, or continue in the processes of healing and support others’ mourning and healing MATTER: May we engage in movement, engage our muscles, and engage in mourning and healing, so that we can join with the Spirit of God who is already working to bring into being a world where BLACK. LIVES. MATTER.
And let us say together again, and again, until that world is a reality: Breath. Language. Movement. Bodies. Lungs. Muscles. Burning. Living. Mourning. BLACK. LIVES. MATTER.
Image Credit: Mike Von, on Unsplash