Bending The Arc
Rev. Shelton Sullivan, 2nd Episcopal District
To fall into the abyss of rage and despair
To watch with horror as innocent civilians are murdered beyond belief or recognition
To summon the fortitude to see a brighter future no matter how dark the current reality may be
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice…”
Who will speak for the dead? Has the child, who has lost all she has ever known, no voice? Are the ears of those imagining the cries of the dying or dead unable to hear?
A new world order. A collective desire to break the cycle of violence that entangles us all like an unrelenting vine. A valiant attempt to make peace, not war, lest our souls die as the executioner stands at the door
Who will escape this impending inferno and conflagration? Who will resist this desire for revenge & further bloodshed? Who will rise and be a peacemaker as a troubadour of conscience rained down upon by bursts of ridicule, laughter, and disbelief?
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice…”
The presence of love. The absence of denial and deceit. The belief in our common humanity
Looking down from the International Space Station, our world appears serene while turning on its axis. A sight our ancestors did not know. A beauty our forebears could only imagine
Looking through the window of a besieged home or the cracks in the rubble of a destroyed building, a horror too painful to describe in words, a heartache too heavy to bear in one body, a pain too raw to be bandaged by words of compassion and sorrow
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice…”
Hope unborn springs up when the echoes of condemnation and reprisals lie down. Hope born in agony and pain takes despair captive along the corridors of suffering and brokenheartedness. Hope, realized and embraced, takes flight as our common humanity soars high above mountains of despair.
Generations to come await our response. Children yet to be born demand our attention. Our progeny will be shaped by what we do or fail to do now.
A light ahead shines brightly if we will only strive to see it. A way will appear if we will only believe it. A common, sustainable, just, and peaceful destiny will emerge if we will only seize it
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice…”
