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elixir-posts · 12 days

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#2

Shaykh Muḥammad b. al-Mukhtār al-Shanqīṭī RA said: “Don’t assume bad of Allah, for by Allah, if you obey Him, He will make for you a source of relief and a way out, and if you are alone within your family and society, then Allah will accompany you in your loneliness. And He will strengthen your heart, and make it firm with His guidance.”

#allahﷻ #tawakkul #this was in my drafts #thinking out loud #hope series #2

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firstumcschenectady · 3 months

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“Wailing as a Means to Hope” based on Amos 5:10-15 and Jeremiah 31:15-17

I've committed to a theme of hope in the midst of despair this Lent, because it is a topic I sense we all desperately need. You can be forgiven for thinking that thus far in worship readings we've done the despair part better than the hope part. Our “We Cry Justice” reading came from the section entitled “Struggle and Lament” and an essay entitled, “You Must Let Us Wail” and it was fabulously matched with Amos bemoaning the poor being trampled and Jeremiah offering us the famous words, “Rachel is weeping for her children.”

What excellent summaries of exactly the states of the world that result in a sense of being hopeless and overwhelmed. Dismay, lament, injustice, wailing, and despair.

Amos and Jeremiah are prophets, and that means they're doing something different with the despair than we might expect. Truthfully, they're USING it. They're using it to motivate people, to create change. Amos looks around, sees the messes, points them out, and then calls people to live differently. We hear it within our passage today:

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Those two verses show up in the midst of a looooooooong lament, but they're also THE POINT. “Do life differently, don't keep up this system of things being unjust.” And, indeed, Amos is lamenting the unjust ways society is siphoning wealth from the poor to the rich. Many modern prophet smake similar points in similar ways. But perhaps we're not hearing the point within the lament – the POINT is to create change.

Jeremiah is doing a similar thing but on a larger scale. Jeremiah is the prophet of the exile: he saw where things would land if nothing changed, he saw destruction happening, he saw the depth of despair, and then afterwards he points out that not all hope is lost. His is a tough book, but the hope in it is real. We may also be trained to hear more easily, “Rachel is weeping for her children” than the lines that follow it, “They shall come back, there is hope for your future.” Jeremiah isn't speaking an easy or light hope, he is speaking hope into the darkest of times – and that hope was just as real as his concerns about the exile had been.

In Jeremiah's writing, despair is named, and met with hope, despite it all.

Interestingly, Stephen Pavey seems to be doing a similar thing. He is speaking clearly about the injustices of our day, but he isn't doing it to bring hopelessness. He says, “Callie and Martin, like Amos, are speaking for God using the poetry and prophecy of lament. They are calling for justice to be worked out and lived out in order to build a different world, a beloved community.”1

There is a funny truth here: prophets don't lament things being the way they are to induce hopelessness and lead people to shut down because they're overwhelmed. Prophets name injustice because they believe JUSTICE is possible. Prophets name systemic greed because they believe an equitable distribution of resources is possible. Prophets name their concern about “how things are going” because they have hope it can get turned around.

Why isn't this more obvious? Why does this seem worth mentioning, even?

I think dear ones, because we now live lives saturated in “news” that can sound a little bit like prophecy, but isn't. Headlines lament poisoned water, but “the news” is an industry committed to turning a profit from exposing bad news. There may be plenty of people in the industry who do so hoping it will motivate change, but that isn't the industry's first concern. And, we'd probably be OK if there were just headlines about poisoned water. We can work on that! But there are also headlines about... wars, possible genocides, famines, coups, floods, fires, earthquakes, ELECTIONS, hospital mergers, lack of nursing home staffing, COVID learning declines, long COVID, increasing poverty rates, lack of housing for migrants, use of solitary confinement despite it being banned...

What else have you read THIS WEEK?

The news can sound like a prophet, but it isn't one.

Because a prophet shares concerns about injustice to motivate changes towards God's visions of justice. NOT to make money.

Now, I'm really not trying to pick on the news industry (it is having a hard enough time), nor discourage you from seeking to be informed (which sometimes can feel like a form of power in an otherwise powerless existence). Rather, I'm wanting to remind us all that a constant intake of bad news isn't something we're OBLIGATED to engage in, and knowing doesn't ACTUALLY create change. Especially if we're already overwhelmed, especially if we're worried about our own lives of that of one of our loved ones. The world is vast and complicated and none of us are ever going to know everything, and it is definitely OK to fast from the news when it leads you to hopelessness. (Lenten Spiritual practice I'd recommend, even.)

Because the news isn't doing the work of the prophets. It isn't rooted in hope.

The prophets do that work and God still calls them to do it. Interestingly, the prophets sometimes get overwhelmed by despair too, but somehow they find their way through Somehow the urging of God to call for something BETTER than what is, motivates them to move beyond what's wrong and into what could be. When we seek out information, maybe it matters a little bit why the story is being told – and why it is being listened to. None of us can respond to the hundreds of concerns we can read about every day, so it is worth paying attention to if in-taking them is live-giving or life-draining. I do not believe God needs us to know about one more justice issue we can't tackle if knowing it drains us from hope.

There is, however, something fundamentally GOOD about injustice being named – by prophets and even by the news. The piece of hope is that people will respond “this isn't as it should be.” Now, again, if that's just a way to make some money, meh. But STILL, just naming that things being broken isn't as God wants them to be MATTERS.

The act of lament is the act of seeing what is broken and wishing for it to be healed.

Sometimes, dear ones, when we feel hopeless, I think we're really engaging in the sacred act of lament. And we need not berate ourselves for engaging in sacred actions, even if they're hard.

What we may need to guard against though, is being so overwhelmed that we move into helplessness. And that, beloveds of God, I sometimes fear is one of the impacts of the 24 hour news cycle compounded by social media. They move us into learned helplessness. Because we hear about wars fought far away, and children being made into orphans, and we can't actually DO anything about it – and we hear about … and we can't do anything about it, and we hear about... and we can't do anything about it, and we start to learn that we can't do ANYTHING.

Which is simply not true.

We can't create peace in the Middle East, but we can reach out to our neighbors in the Capital Region who are Muslim and Jewish and remind them with our words and actions they are seen and loved. That matters in the face of the hatred being slung around, and it matters in simply planting the seeds of peace and love in the world. We can't eliminate hunger within the world or even our community, but we've learned we can serve one hot meal with a healthy dose of respect and that it can matter a whole lot. We can't eliminate single use plastics, but we've learned to grocery shop with reusable bags, and carry reusable water bottles and those actions add up.

There is plenty we can do, actually, there is so much we can do we struggle to decide which ways to share our love in the world, right? GOOD!!

Dear ones, a yearning for the world to be different, a lament at how things are, a longing for more justice, even fear that things might continue without change – these are beautiful expressions of HOPE. Because something in you believes this brokenness isn't enough, and shouldn't be enough. It meant to motivate change.

Not despair, not being overwhelmed, not learned helplessness. Change.

Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate.

It is possible. With God all things are possible. Love good dear ones, it isn't time to give up yet. Amen

1 Stephen Pavey“12: You Must Let Us Wail” in We Cry Justice, ed. Liz Theoharis (Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2021) p. 57 used with permission.

Rev. Sara E. Baron First United Methodist Church of Schenectady 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305 Pronouns: she/her/hers http://fumcschenectady.org/ https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

February 18, 2024

#thinking church #progressive christianity #fumc schenectady #first umc schenectady #umc #schenectady #sorry about the umc #rev sara e baron #Lent #We Cry Justice #Prophets #Hope Series #Lament as sacred practice #Not at peace with brokenness

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readerconfused · 4 months

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Mr D insisting that Percy's name is Peter and immediately afterwards yelling at the demigods to get the hell out of the camp I LOVE THIS GOD

#“are you still here?” D love you should be pretending you don't care about him #Dionysus i will be by your side always #f ck Zeus let me get D wine #the way a war happened and nothing shook him fills me with hope #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo series #pjo tv show #percy jackson and the olympians spoilers #pjo #mr d pjo

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elizaisdunn · 7 months

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how I imagine Grian telling the gang it’s time for a new season

#eliza draws #life series #secret life #double life #limited life #last life #third life #grian #meme format #life series cast #all of them #this is not indicative of how I imagine everyone heights I was just putting people where they would fit lol #originally posted to my private twitter but the more I look at it the funnier I think it is #so i’m sharing it with the masses #I hope u like it :)

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isjasz · 4 days

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Stellar death

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ruporas · 25 days

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your love returns in tragedy (ID in alt)

#farcille #falin touden #marcille donato #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #coming face to face with the consequences of acting out of love - marcille u will always be famous #dunmeshi is really a series that keeps on moving bc it's about so many different characters and centered on the journey #rather than like... introspectively on one singular individual so i dont think we see marcille dwell on it but we can see her fatigue #her shock and surprise in the recent ep “don't hurt her she's just confused” Gah. desperately trying to grasp everything thats going on and #not to lose hope. bc undoubtedly the remains she put together was falin's - that short moment of reprieve the party had was with falin #she was able to bring her back her magic did it!! but the violence the fatal swings was not falin at all.#just pondering about holding that guilt... it's such a huge responsibility to be in charge of life in the first place and yet it is #a burden she'll keep trudging with. defying the natural orders to keep the people she love alive... i Lauv her...#also shared sentiment with the rest of the fandom but God. Chimera Falin... she is Everything....#ruporas art

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the-tired-ish-rat · 4 months

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Okay, Tumblr.

In the light of the recent Percy Jackson show (and ignoring the fact that I have to read Goethe's Faust for school), I am challenging you all and especially you reading this.

14k notes by the 1st of April and I will read all of the Percy Jackson series' books that my sibling owns.

I think they go up to the Apollo series? So, like. ~20 books.

edit:

1. Sadly, my sibling doesn't have all of the books. They have pjo, hoo and toa. Having counted them, I will admit that there are only 15 books. Sorry for the confusion, guys, my bad. But if they are as good as everyone is telling me, I might order the rest anyways.

2. I'll extend the deadline to May 25th because I have exams and school is seriously kicking my ass. Either way, I would probably start reading around then anyways.

3. The original post said 14k notes. There was an update post, which said 20k and I'll live blog me reading it as well. Twas' me, being stupid. Or sleep deprived. Probably both. Y'all get to 10k and I'll live blog it during summer.

The Riordanverse (?) (is that what you call yourselves?) sounds like a lot of fun :D thank you for actually reading this and introducing me to a new world to explore. Drink some water, get a snack, and good scrolling to the further lands of Tumblr!

#percy jackson #pjo series #pjo tv show #i wanted to read it for quite some time but never had the motivation so i'm hoping the tumblerinas will force me

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mienar · 1 month

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the wandering painter, part one

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#artists on tumblr #illustration #animated illustration #animation #backgrounds #animated gifs #background illustration #myillust #landscape #plants #scenery #summer #hiii! just wanted to share an artwork i made that's super fresh from the oven ksfknsf #'the wandering painter' will be a series that consists of artworks that has elements that i struggle to draw and am trying to improve on!#ive always really struggled with the process of painting (for example) clouds fields grass grasslands flowers etc #despite the end result coming out satisfactory imo but i cant deny that it most of the time feels like a fluke #so this series would consist of my journey of improving how to draw said elements/areas more confidently :D #this artwork in particular - i studied and practiced how to paint/draw silver grass better along with grasses and clouds #i feel like im sorta getting the hang of it but theres definitely room to study and experiment how i can paint it better #so yeah! nonetheless i really hope you'll like this! and i hope you'll have a lovely day/night ahead <3333

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cata613 · 3 months

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Someone: Why do you keep showing me clips from Star Trek TOS all the time?

Me:

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policyoftruth · 1 year

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#hope no one did this already #doctor who #ninth doctor #christopher eccleston #rose tyler #mickey smith #captain jack harkness #jack harkness #doctor who series 1 #barbie movie meme #solar posts

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demigods-posts · 4 months

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okay but imagine being king of the gods and blaming a scrawny twelve-year-old kid for stealing a sacred object of yours that is your responsibility to keep up with me. and the only basis for your argument is that he is your brother's spawn so the kid must be a menace. king behavior. truly.

#i hope y'all know i'm being completely sarcastic #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #pjo text post #pjo shitposting #pjo series #pjo show #zeus #poseidon #percy jackson

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foamloam · 4 months

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Sea, Swallow Me - Cocteau Twins

#Star Trek #star trek the voyage home #Star Trek 4 #spock #star trek tos #spock star trek #star trek the original series #tos spock #my inspiration for this was Spock’s memory loss he got when he died and got revived #I love Star Trek 4 #I am putting this in my ap art portfolio lol I hope it’s good #I had a lot of fun drawing the ships in this #I love space ship :-)#star trek fan art #loamsart

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astearisms · 8 months

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but it ain’t called love without a little tragedy 🍁

#my art #a love letter to betty and simon #getting to explore simon’s journey post AT finale and the nuances of his relationship with Betty has been an experience #I don’t know what’s next but we can only hope closure for them #that betty maybe learns to put herself first after putting every ounce of herself in simon #or that simon learns to let go? or both of them do #assuming we do see Betty again #i am preparing to say farewell to the series once again after the finale #thank you adventure time crew #fionna and cake #fionna and cake spoilers #simon petrikov #betty grof #petrigrof #adventure time #I forgot to mention #this animation was inspired by ‘autumn leaves’ by yves montand #but a cover of it #I was listening to the song because I wanted to learn it on an instrument #it’s a melancholy song about autumn and lost love #and as I heard the lyrics of course I instantly thought of these guys #and then I started drawing #inspiration had a strong grip on me #thank you for reading #and your support #I hope you guys have had as much fun with this show as I have #I’m grateful for it

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counting-stars-gayly · 4 months

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Book: "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you." "Why?" "Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain."

Show: "You've done more for me in the past few days than my dad's done for me in my entire life. If I have to stick with someone, I—" "Careful. I think you were about to call me your friend."