The wind picks up. The air gets colder.
And the rain comes and comes.

The days are shortening.
The nights are lengthening.

The tree outside my window is dropping its orange leaves heavy with rain. The little birds come and peck its berries.

The days are shortening.
The nights are lengthening.

The wind howls in the chimney.
The chimes on the front porch make a wide arc as the wind thowrs them back and forth.

The days are shortening.
The nights are lengthening.

The lengthening night was lit by red fire on Monday as the church of Michael Brown’s family burned to the ground.

The shortening day is full of accounts of the sins of our culture, of racism, of imprisonment and murder.

Yes, the days are shortening.
The nights are lengthening.

The lengthening night in fraternities all over the country is full of the sound of silent struggle, women being raped, and institutions ignoring the crime.

The days are shortening.
The nights are lengthening.

It our duty to turn the Wheel. the bend the arc of the universe toward justice, to work and pray without cecasing.

It is our duty to bring a morning of justice from a midnight of terror.

It is our duty to bring a day of love from the night of fear.

Even as we know the night gets deeper, we insist there is cause for hope.
We await a new day, a new sun, a new year.

Amen.

***Another reminder:  If you, too, are finding this holiday season full of choices, full of dilemmas, full of questions about what to do and how to me, please sign up for the Free Discernment Call:  Wise Choices for Hard Times. It’s this Thursday, the 4th at 5:00 Pacific Time US. I’ll be sending out some more reminders over the next few days, but go ahead and sign up now if you’re interested. And keep in mind that even if you’re not available for the live call, a recording will be available the next day! So sign up via this link, and we’ll get started!***