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Witnesses to Love

13,000. That’s how many Palestinian children have been killed in Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Hamas, as estimated by UNICEF this spring.

1,195,070. That’s how many deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the CDC as of mid-July.

1 in 5. That’s how many children live in food-insecure circumstances in this country, based on the USDA’s 2022 numbers.

5,000. That’s how many people were hungry on the mountainside where they had come to watch Jesus heal the sick. 5,000. That’s how many hungry people Philip felt overwhelmed by when Jesus oh-so-casually asked him, “Where’s the nearest market to buy food for these folks?” 5,000. That’s how many people Philip was multiplying by the cost of food when he replied, “You don’t pay me enough to buy bread for all these people!” (John 6:5-7, loosely translated)

“What can I possibly do?” wondered Philip. The need is so great, the numbers are so massive, the resources are so limited. The anxious guilt of inadequacy is so real. Many of us feel it when we’re listening to the latest unprecedented news or reading about all the horrors that are entirely precedented: another hospital bombed in Gaza, another Black woman fatally shot by police, another hurricane devastating a town, another wildfire devouring homes. “What can I possibly do?”

I’m not sure which is more overwhelming these days: the unprecedented or the precedented. I don’t know whether the harm caused by unfamiliar events or familiar events is quantifiably worse. I don’t think it makes a difference: harm is harm, devastation is devastation.

And a significant impact of devastation is isolation. Caught up in pain or loss or stress or shame, we retreat into ourselves: reserving our emotional energy and mental bandwidth to deal with … everything … and sequestering ourselves against further harm. Even when devastation stems from that spiral of inadequacy—when we are not the object of harm but instead a witness to harm—the inward pull can be strong.

When we witness harm and the question panicking our spirit is, “What can I do?” … When the only answer we have is, “Nothing I do can possibly be enough!” and inadequacy threatens to drown us … The way out is to witness love in action: Here is a boy with lunch that he’s willing to share.

The way out is to show up for someone else. To pass the basket of loaves and fish.

The way out is to be awed by love’s abundant breadth and depth. To pick up the leftovers.

No matter how daunting the need. No matter how limited the resources. No matter how many others. When we are overwhelmed by the harms we witness, it is essential that we give witness to love. One person at a time. One action at a time.

And because love’s fullness surpasses our understanding, the act of showing up in love can be the beginning of a miracle.

Good to Be Seen

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders went up the mountain, and they saw the God of Israel. Under God’s feet there was something like a sapphire pavement, as clear and blue as the heavens. They beheld God, and they ate and drank. – Exodus 24:9-11 (adapted) 

“It’s good to see you!” 

The familiar greeting circulates through our gatherings when it’s been too long since we’ve been in the same place together. Annual conferences. Professional conventions. Family holidays. Happy hour with friends.  

I often receive this greeting at church on Sunday mornings. Worship wayfarer that I am, it’s rare for me to attend a service in the same place on consecutive Sundays. So when my body and spirit come together in a pew, the greetings are plentiful: 

“It’s good to see you!” 

Somewhere along the way, I picked up the response: “It’s good to be seen!” 

And it is good—so very good and soul-nourishing—when someone lights up to see you, calls you by name, lets you know that they notice your presence. That in this moment, even if not again for a while, the delight of being together is good and holy. 

As good to the soul as a meal is to the body. As beautiful as sapphire pavement. As holy as sitting in the presence of God. 

“It’s good to see you!” 

“It’s good to be seen!” Because we’re not always fully noticed or beheld with joy. In our day-to-day routines, we too easily become part of life’s scenery to each other—more like characters and backgrounds in life’s drama, less like the delightful God-reflections we all are.  

But in the presence of God, we are invited to behold, to pause our rushing and appreciate the living miracles with whom we share space each day. 

Prayer: How good and pleasant it is, O God, to be known by you and by one another! It is like oil anointing the head, like rain washing the face, like bread satisfying the stomach.

cross-posted with the Daily Devotional

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