Bruce Epperly

In writing about a South African Women’s March for Freedom during the era of apartheid, poet June Jordan concludes a poem with the affirmation, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

While I am often goal-directed, I try to do something each day that neither toils nor spins, that doesn’t accomplish anything, that is simply joyful and fun. I believe God wants us to enjoy.

As I begin the first months of retirement, I ask myself regularly, “What’s next?” What great thing will God ask of me? In what cause will I be called to invest my time, talent, and treasure?

Philosopher and activist Simone Weil said that we need saints for today. We need people who join contemplation and action to heal the world and aim toward far horizons of relational and planetary healing.

At the heart of love is the willingness to sacrifice for the well-being of others. Meditate on the words of Rabbi Hillel the Great, “If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?”

As I see the photos of persons who have died from COVID-19, the richness of their lives, their meaning to loved ones, I weep at the loss to their families, friends, and communities.