This morning I am thinking about the daunting and discouraging number of conflicts in this nation and in the world, and what we sitting here in worshipful meditation can do about it.
Conflicts will be reduced or resolved not by debate; by persuasion; by what one side or the other contends to be cogent, even irrefutable, evidence. Conflicts will never be reduced or resolved by self-righteousness.
Conflicts will ultimately be reduced and resolved by love in the heart turned into love in action; by a bow and a smile, never by a sneer; by peaceful, respectful listening, starting unilaterally; by showing understanding, acceptance, moral support and, in the political sphere, fair economic and social support – while never rewarding bad behavior.
We
can contribute to the reduction and resolution of conflicts around us by representing
that of God within ourselves, by seeking and focusing on that of God in each party
to a conflict, and by cultivating our capacity to do so.
