Spirit of life, God within and and all around us —

I give thanks for all that has helped me grow into a crooked tree and I am grateful for all of us who are — asymmetrical. I know it is not easy to grow wild and free.

Jamie Raskin, who is a Maryland Representative, cautioned us that “we must never forget that democracy is the political system in service of human freedom.” So I worry when I hear that Massachusetts officials are encouraging passivity in the face of ICE raids, with local police providing “a professional witness.”

And I think – Don’t let yourself fit into the mill machine.

I hope we may instead be like the people of San Diego who “pushed ICE agents out of their community forcing the vehicles to retreat” when they stormed the Buona Forchetta restaurant.

They did not let themselves fit into the mill machine.

Spirit of life, may we be intentional: intentional about slowing down, intentional about rest, intentional about celebration and having fun. Help us give ourselves the time and space to experience that wild and free is resilience and resistance in service to each other, not retreating into order and safety in response to fear, not hiding and staying silent in the hope that we’ll be overlooked and not driven down the mountain to the mill.

Spirit of life, God within and and all around us, give us courage, for “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” May these words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King help us practice taking risks and dare to play our part in creating beautiful gardens of resistance where, in service of human freedom, we can all grow in peace and joy together.

May we not be afraid of being wild and free. May we all be a bit crooked. May we all resist the mill machine.

Amen.

* Italics refer to the lyrics of “Crooked Tree” by Molly Tuttle.

—Jane S.