01-09-26

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 9, 2026
The following poem by Nikita Gill, a British-Indian poet and artist, has been a part of my mornings and evenings that last few days. Though I am still digesting it, I strangely find it speaking to me and to the moment.

​The rage you are feeling 
comes from the same place 
inside your heart as the love.

This is why you refuse to accept 
a world where cruelty reigns 
and the fire consumes all.

You have known hope 
and joy and kindness 
like you have known water.

​And justice is a river 
that demands 
you do not give up on it.

At a time when cruelty and the devaluing of human beings are dismissed as a necessary part of doing business, it is imperative that we engage the poets and the artists. By doing so, we are allowing them to help us in reconnecting with the gift of empathy.

Your words, “it was very good,” help us to remember that life itself is good because it comes from you, Creator of All. Teach us again the transformative power of empathy, beyond those within our own circle of comfort. Not only is this a request we make of you, Compassionate God, but we believe that empathy and the goodness of all creation are inescapably linked. Amen.