Courage - Cherishing the anger at injustice while healing the pain

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A quote I've found meaningful:

"Our commitments to healing and liberation require risk because the love and trust required to love fearlessly open us to injury. To remain open and to receive the world's gifts requires us to maintain a capacity for vulnerability, and the tragedies and limits of human life can weaken our trust so that we move from love toward fear and withdrawal. Our vulnerability means we are not completely immune to forces of evil...To commit ourselves to the work of God's love and justice means taking enormous risks in order to keep healing and liberation alive in the world. We must be aware that the forces of oppression, hate, and violence are strong and canny...organized to resist relinquishing their power...We require COURAGE--strength of heart--to challenge evil, even as we remain suspicious of our most self-righteous polemics and defensive postures. Courage enables us to cherish our anger at injustice at the same time we are attuned to the opportunities to heal the pain that lies below anger." From Rita Nakashima Brock's essay, "The Greening of the Soul," in Setting the Table, 142.

To me, this is so much what the Gospel means.

Comments

Linda said…
Okay. Now that's so timely it's downright spooky. ;-) Thanks. I needed to read that today.
June 26, 2007 at 8:28 AM
Jan said…
Such a lovely quotation. Thank you, Katherine. I hope you're feeling much better!
June 26, 2007 at 8:13 PM
Diane M. Roth said…
Anger is a tool to motivate us for justice...
June 26, 2007 at 8:22 PM
Rev SS said…
"To commit ourselves to the work of God's love and justice means taking enormous risks in order to keep healing and liberation alive in the world." So True! Lord, empower us with your courage that we might truly be The Body of Christ.
June 26, 2007 at 10:05 PM
RevDrKate said…
Once again I find myself printing off another quote from your posts to hang right in front of my eyes so I REMEMBER! Thank you.
June 28, 2007 at 11:58 AM
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