Last night I gathered with about 100 people at the very cold corner of 5th and Penn Street in Reading, PA, to light a large electric Menorah. Across the street from it is a Christmas tree of about the same height, which was lit last week. And even though I am not a fan of the public displays of religious symbols, I also believe that if you let one go up, you have to let others go up as well. We stood there together singing songs and hearing jokes from the presenters, and I thought to myself that, in spite of the horrors of the last weekend, this is good. Even though we have to have police all around us, this is good. We are better together, no matter what the bigots say and do. And, as our leaders and presenters reminded us last night, when there is darkness, we need to light a candle.
This weekend, most of the people who gathered at that corner will be worshiping someplace with people of their faith – Jews will sit in their synagogues, Muslims in their Mosques, Christians in their churches, and people of other faiths in their own places where they experience God. Some of the people at the Menorah lighting were born in this country and others were not; that didn’t matter to the rest of us, because we know the truth about America – that this is a place of hope and opportunity, if we allow it to be. This is a place where diversity and inclusion are the goals – where justice and equity are the antidote to unfairness and the misuse of power. Even as a poor kid growing up as a minority, I knew that I could make something of myself with a little help from the government. Nobody is self-made – we are better together.
I have come to know most of the people who stood on that corner last night – they are politicians and businesspeople and clergy – they are retired and students and still working – they are straight and lgbtq and married and single. None of that mattered last night, because we aren’t bigots. We know that we are better together, and that without the incredible diversity we see everywhere, we would not be who we are. So, whatever you celebrate this time of year, light a candle. Talk about your hopes and dreams. Live each day as if it were your last, with joy and generosity. And don’t let those who would force us to live in darkness win. Because we really are better together – and they are the problem, not the answer. Being together is the answer.
Prayer – Holy God, You have made us in different ways but with one Spirit. May our love for You move beyond ourselves to others. Amen.
Today’s art is “Menorah” by Rebecca de Cachard, 2015.