Under even the greatest oppression, a select few people have what they need. But this is not true justice. True justice is a whole society that is just; therefore there is no justice until there is justice for all. For this reason the struggle for justice is never-ending; there will always be setbacks, but never a reason to give up.
Even under the worst tyrant, there may be a powerful few who are free to act as they choose. But this is not true freedom. True freedom is a society in which everyone is free; therefore there is no freedom until all are free. For this reason the struggle for freedom must always set people free; freedom can never be achieved by coercion.
Injustice is always hidden, disguised as the way things ought to be, protected by social habits and assumptions that we never question or confront. Seeking justice always requires that we dismantle existing social structures. Those who seek justice will always meet resistance, but it is a struggle of truth against fear, and truth is stronger.
The freedom and justice God intends for us (part of what Jesus called the Kingdom of God) is not a far-off fantasy; it is a gift implanted within us at our very creation. It arises as a gift when we treat one another with reverence. It can’t be enforced or manipulated or brought about by fear, violence or threat. It can only be set free in us. It can only be achieved by nonviolence.
Reverence overpowers coercion. It may take great time and sacrifice, but it will not fail. Even in offering its opponents the freedom to reject it, nonviolence has succeeded in setting all parties free. Even God does not threaten, coerce or manipulate us, but offers us grace and reverence. The cross is God’s nonviolence.
Our reverence toward others, including our enemies, regardless of the cost to us, even the cost of our lives, unleashes the infinite, world-changing, life-giving power of God’s grace in us. Just as an exploding bomb releases itself into the area around it with destructive force, a loving person releases herself into the world with creative power. This is the mystery of resurrection.
Martin Luther King, Jr. lived the resurrection life. Give thanks today for all those who have given of themselves for the sake of freedom and justice. And pray that you may have the courage, faith and compassion to stand among them, to join in the sacred struggle for “justice and liberty for all.”
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
The meaning of names is a fascinating history. I found out the meaning of my birth name when I was about 9 or 10 and it thrilled me at the time that is meant something very personal to me – Amy Carol Duvall = Beloved Song of the Valley. From my earliest memories I had identified myself as a singer and so this was even more special to me.
Over the years I didn’t really think much about my name, I was just trying to survive life itself. Over those years I was given other names by the people I loved and cared about: fat, cow, lazy, clumsy, stupid, liar, vain, ugly, etc. The list was pretty long and none of it was very good. Words, and the thoughts they produce, are so powerful. Do we realize the power of our tongues and thoughts? It was very hard to live with those names, yet I had no way of rejecting them…they were true, right?
As I lived those names I always had a feeling of shame. I tried to hide them and not let anyone know. I tried to cover myself with coolness and ‘act’ like I was better than others by my love of fashion and my house being beautiful. I didn’t want to be called by those names, yet I didn’t know how to change them. I was too weak, a complete liar, vain and never finished anything hard (my mother told me that and she knew me better than anyone).
In 1990 I began a journey with God, and that journey began something that is truly remarkable. I began the process of earning a new name. I didn’t even know it, but as I began to attempt to live beyond my own abilities, and make frail attempts to live the words of Jesus in Matthew 5-7, I was earning a new name.
In 2007 I wrote my life story – as I looked for a title the meaning of my birth name came back to me. OMG! I had lived my name for all those years! I had walked through the valley as God’s beloved song. It hit me that maybe it would have been better to have been given a more fun name, but the realization was extremely profound at that time and it even became the inspiration for the title of my good-newsletter, Songs from the Valley (www.songsfromthevalley.com).
After this realization, I began to pursue and examine being God’s beloved. This is the amazing truth I found – we are ALL the beloved. It was so exciting to find so much evidence and documentation of how God loves us so much. It began to change me, this being loved so much by my creator! The truths of the value of each soul, and God’s real, unconditional love, has been shown to me over and over. It is mind-blowing and makes me a little giddy whenever I think about it.
Anyway…
Over the past four years God has done some amazing things in my life, and I have become aware that I am no longer in the valley, but I just realized that I have a new name. This is big! I am no longer the Beloved Song of the Valley – I am now the Beloved Song of Christ. Wow!!!! I stand amazed by grace.
We have all been given true names by God. It is who we really are. What’s your name? Beloved _________ of Christ! Ask and seek and you are guaranteed to find it. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matt 7:7
So you say that you can’t go on Love left you cryin’ And you say all your hope is gone And
what’s the use in tryin’ What you need is to have some faith Shake off those sad blues Get yourself a new view
Oh, nothing is a sad as it seems, you know ‘Cause someday you’ll laugh at the heartache Someday, you’ll laugh at the pain Somehow you’ll get through the heartache Somehow you can get through the rain
CHORUS: When love puts you through the fire When love puts you through the test Nothing cures a broken heart Like time, love and tenderness When you think your world is over Baby just remember this Nothing heals a broken heart Like time, love and tenderness Time, love and tenderness
I understand how you’re feeling now And what you’ve been through But your world’s gonna turn around So baby don’t you be blue All it takes is a little time To make it better The hurt won’t last forever
Oh, all the tears are gonna dry you know ‘Cause someday you’ll laugh at the heartache Someday you’ll laugh at the pain You may be down on your luck But baby that old lucks gonna change
CHORUS:
Baby, oh baby you just need some You just need some Time, love and tenderness
Time, love and tenderness The hurt ain’t gonna last forever Time, love and tenderness Time, love and tenderness
Michael Bolton – Time, Love and Tenderness Lyrics
There are days when I just want to quit. I don’t want to keep fighting these battles. I just want to go my own way. I want to give up and be comfortable. I don’t want to be aware, or have to choose. I don’t want to be strong. I want to jump into the music business and go to the top. I want to sell myself to get there. I want to sing to thousands of people and get praise and acclaim from all over the world. I know I could work hard enough. I want to be spoiled and live in a nice house. I want to buy shoes and be shallow. I want to be beautiful and dress fabulous in designer clothes and prove to everyone, especially certain people on a short list I have, what I…yes, I said it, what I can do. If I can’t do that, then I want to forget it all and be able to be satisfied with some simple job and blend into anonymity, which then makes me want to just lay in bed for days, in my pajamas, and only get up to eat ice cream out of the container. I want…I want….I want….is the recurring theme.
Every day I am aware of how difficult, even impossible, it is to live this spiritual life. Every day I face a new choice of who I want to be, how I live. It goes against everything I seem to want. Every moment is a new choice to make. So many choices and so many times I fail. Over and over I fail. Yet God remains faithful. I have lived my faith – I have found the faithfulness of God to be so much more mind-blowing than I could ever comprehend. I have lived the miracles. No one can take that away from me! And so I continue with the struggle to love, the struggle to open my heart, the struggle to be patient and obedient and wait on God’s timing for my music. One more day the battle wages on and I chose to take one more faltering step with God. Yes, the warrior is a child every morning, every night and all through the day. Thankfully I know the truth that everything is grace! Gods mercy remains and is new every morning – just for me. Oh, and for everyone else who chooses to receive it.
Henri Nouwen says this about Spiritual Choices:
Choices. Choices make the difference. Two people are in the same accident and severely wounded. They did not choose to be in the accident. It happened to them. But one of them chose to live the experience in bitterness, the other in gratitude. These choices radically influenced their lives and the lives of their families and friends. We have very little control over what happens in our lives, but we have a lot of control over how we integrate and remember what happens. It is precisely these spiritual choices that determine whether we live our lives with dignity.
Finally, what I really want is to be happy in this moment,
where the magic and miracles happen. Stay in the moment and all gifts are added as you breathe and take inspired action.
~Joe Vitale
Anne Voskamp (www.onethousandgifts.com) ‘names’ her years. My son, Brandon, and I used to have a rhyming theme for each year…ie: 2009 – will be fine; 2010 – time to win, etc. We would chant it and have fun, but overall it really didn’t have much meaning. 
I didn’t ‘name’ 2011, but, as I look back on it, it was truly a year of Transformation in many ways (check out the full Songs from the Valley Newsletter at www.songsfromthevalley.com).
Ann has chosen a greek word for ‘communion/community’ for her year 2012 – http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/01/what-the-new-year-needs-most/. I like it. I even considered adopting it and taking the path with her this year, but as I sat down to write it, I realized that over this past year I have become more and more aware of the lack of tenderness and vulnerability in our lives and in our relationships – and how important it is! I must tell you it is one of my hardest and most challenging battles for me to continue to open my heart and offer tenderness and vulnerability to people who don’t even understand the principle. Yet, that is the heart of God to me, how could I not allow God to use me to show that heart to others?
I believe this so strongly, and continue to try to live it. I know this can only be from God – not me. It is my biggest miracle. I am not naturally tender. I can be very hard, I can set my mind and do very hard things – I have had to do very hard things. I am stubborn and I love fairness – I don’t naturally like to fight, but unfairness makes me want to fight to win! Yet, my belief system continues to challenge my heart. I have experienced much unfairness in my life, and God has used it to break me open and show me the importance of tenderness and vulnerability. ‘Love your enemies’ has kicked my proverbial butt many time! In 46 years, I only have one friend who has ever allowed me to glimpse a return of this principle in action. That friend has made a huge impact on my life, even though the friendship is, in some ways, very distant.
It is one of the most challenging things in my life for me to continue to practice what I believe on this issue, and yet I know it must be done, I want to get so much better at it, but I have a feeling this will always be something I will find difficult – if it was easy everyone would do it, right? All I know for sure is – without it there is no true, unconditional love in the world.
I understand why so many people are hurting and why they have shut down, and I know how important it is to show them they have a choice, and that making those choices are an all important, vital part of love and of living a happy and full life! And so my 2012 is dedicated to this theme of tenderness and vulnerability. It feels right.
This TED talk (I love TED!!!!! www.ted.com) is on vulnerability and it is so good! I want everyone to listen to it! This is a very, very, very, important talk. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
Vulnerable, Like a Bird
Henri Nouwen http://www.henrinouwen.org/
Life is precious. Not because it is unchangeable, like a diamond, but because it is vulnerable, like a little bird. To love life means to love its vulnerability, asking for care, attention, guidance, and support. Life and death are connected by vulnerability. The newborn child and the dying elder both remind us of the preciousness of our lives. Let’s not forget the preciousness and vulnerability of life during the times we are powerful, successful, and popular. 
life: acoustic & amplified 