I returned to this sermon again this morning when invited to preach at Northside Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor. I find myself thinking about how much staying power this story from Jesus has had. Just think about how many different situations it has spoken into over the centuries.
We might be able to relate deeply to every single character in this story in one way or another.
This Week in Nature
Two of My Very Favorites Talk about Creativity
Rumeysa Ozturk
These words below were written by Matt Mikalatos on Facebook. You can access his Facebook post here.
This is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar from Turkey who is studying for her doctorate at Tufts University.
Last night, six masked men walked up to her in a residential neighborhood, grabbed her, and whisked her away in unmarked cars. Bystanders asked the men who they were and why they wore masks and they said “We’re the police.”
One of the neighbors caught it on his security camera and has shared truly chilling photos of a young woman being surrounded and bundled off into a car.
Like previous illegal ICE arrests of recent days there have been no charges filed. Her lawyer quickly filed with a judge to prevent her being moved out of state, which the judge approved, but as of today the ICE tracking tool shows her at a privately run prison in Louisiana, not in Massachusetts where she was taken. Her lawyers have not been allowed to speak to her.
Unlike other recent arrests, Ozturk was NOT heavily involved in protest actions on her campus or elsewhere.
I’ve been told that in some of the other egregious ICE actions of recent weeks that it’s “not a free speech issue” because these people are “terrorists” and “supporters of Hamas” (NONE of which has been proven *or even charged* by the US government) AND YET… the best guess right now as to why this woman’s visa was revoked and she was arrested is that she put her name on an op-ed in her school paper.
The op-ed had controversial statements like “We, as graduate students, affirm the equal dignity and humanity of all people.”
So, to recap:
– A young, intelligent woman who is studying in the US legally
– Wrote an op-ed
– Got arrested by masked men and had her visa revoked
– Was removed from the state despite a court order saying she was not to be removed
– Has not been allowed to contact her lawyers
One of Rumeysa’s friends, a professor at Northeastern, describes her as a “soft spoken, kind, and gentle soul.” He said that not only was she not antisemitic, and not racist, he said that in the ten years he’s known her she’s not spoken badly to anyone at all.
It seems like in every way, Rumeysa Ozturk is the kind of person we should want in the United States. Kind, intelligent, law-abiding. Instead we’ve violated her rights and our own values, abducted her with masked secret police, incarcerated her without any charges, kept her from her lawyers, and disobeyed court orders about where she’s to be kept.
I’ve heard some people saying lately that there’s no reason to be concerned, because immigrants don’t have the same rights as citizens, and honestly I find this more stomach-churning than some of the directly racist or xenophobic things I’ve seen people say. Why on earth are people defending the government that’s harming people instead of the vulnerable people being harmed?
I will promise you this: when a government starts violating rights of the vulnerable, it doesn’t stop with a single population of people.
This is another truly disturbing action by the US government and by ICE. If you’re an American citizen, please make some noise about this to your reps, and check in on your friends who are vulnerable to this same kind of xenophobic totalitarian rights violations.
This Tiny Thing Always Heartens Me
I stepped outside, and I was surprised to find some crocuses in full bloom.
New life is possible. New life is surprising.
The Bombs Themselves
I wonder, what it would be like to live in a world where innumerable bombs, dropped on vulnerable places—homes, families, and human lives with names—generated more shock and scrutiny than the channels and methods we use to discuss them?
— Renee Roederer
Egg Teeth
I recently learned about egg teeth.
In some species of birds, hatchlings grow an egg tooth, connected to their beak. This temporary tool helps them crack through their egg sac and then through the shell itself. Not long after, the tooth dries up and falls off. It’s equal parts weird and useful.
Sometimes, it takes a temporary tool to break open something lasting—an opportunity, a burst of adrenaline, or a flash of intuition. It’s a reminder that even fleeting things can serve an important purpose.
— Renee Roederer
They’ll Teach Us How to Care
David Scott Smith is one of my favorite essayists. For twenty-five years, every Monday morning, he’s sent out weekly essays, starting in the 90s with a growing personal listserv, and in more recent years, on his website. These essays are called Monday Moanin’. He’s also the author of Hope This Finds You: Letters from a Friend, which includes some personal favorites among these essays. He is wise, deep, and a humorist. Some essays are reflective, while others make me laugh aloud. Some blend both experiences. I’d encourage you to check out his writing.
Many years ago, in one of his Monday Moanin’ essays, he described parenting as “building the plane while it’s taking off.” I think that’s a fitting image that likely resonates with most people. He also shared that if we listen deeply and pay attention, our children will teach us how to parent them. Of course, there are basic tasks we must take care of—changing diapers, feeding them, bathing them, and providing them with an education. But each child is different; they each need unique forms of encouragement and guidance from us. If we pay attention, they will shape the experience as much as we do.
But this idea doesn’t only apply to parenting. Perhaps less dramatically, aren’t most relationships an opportunity to “build the plane while it’s taking off”? And in the same way, if we listen deeply and pay attention, our friends, family, neighbors, and even so-called strangers will teach us how to care for them. In the midst of this, there are values and commitments we’ll want to uphold consistently. But each person is different; they need unique forms of encouragement and care from us, and we from them. If we pay attention, our loved ones will shape the experience as much as we do.
— Renee Roederer
Also, for fun, I also asked ChatGPT to create three images of “building the plane while it’s taking off,” each one more ridiculous than the last. They didn’t disappoint.
This Week in Nature
The Monarch Butterfly Population Has Doubled
Smuggling Grace 