In the Jewish scriptures, while camping by a turn in the river, Jacob finds an intruder and they wrestle all night. As day breaks, he sees the intruder is an angel and demands to know the angel’s name. Instead, the angel changes Jacob’s name to Yisrael – One who has seen God. Jacob is transformed during the struggle, and walks with a limp the rest of his life.

Jacob’s blessing comes with wounding and leads to a new religion, the first monotheistic religion, grounded in direct experience of oneness with Life (our first UU Source).

We are all wounded in our struggles with life, where we are vulnerable, open: To grow, to evolve, requires vulnerability, changes us. and leaves us limping.

As I write, we are reeling from the school shootings of 19 children and two teachers in Texas. We weep for them and with their families. We feel overwhelmed. Angry.

In our individualistic society we may feel despair: What can I do to change things?

You are not alone. Reading this, you are part of our spiritual communities yearning to make a difference, to help shift ourselves and our culture away from hate to love.

To make a difference in the world, we have to take part.

To take part, we have to be touched, to feel our feelings, which show us the depth of our compassion, the depth of love for and commitment to life.

Sounds simple enough. But not easy.
In our culture we are taught NOT to feel.

We either stay too busy, escape into denial (Netflix binging) or numb out.

Our culture is literally crying out for an alternative to polarization and violence. Crying out for UU values. And how to live them in the world.

Living our values requires us to be open-hearted, resilient.

Right now, that requires us to let our hearts break open.

Which requires resilience.

We gather in spiritual community to help each other grow resilience, so we may be of benefit to this world, as individuals and together, helping to shift from hate to love. This takes heart. This takes practice. This takes each other.

How are you being wounded, blessed, transformed by wrestlings with life?

How are you allowing yourself to be held by Love while you feel it all?

Rev. Mary