I don’t believe in Fate. I do believe in causation however. And right now in our world, we’re experiencing the side effects of our action and our inaction.

And what’s happening doesn’t speak well about us. We’ve agreed that certain things contribute to climate change, but haven’t demanded that those things be changed. We’ve agreed that racism is rampant, but haven’t worked to change our own hearts, and through that changed others’.

And so we see huge winter storms lashing the coasts and destroying islands in the middle of the Pacific and send an occasional check to the Red Cross. And we see riots in our streets because we continue to ignore the privileged violence that is enacted against our brothers and sisters of color.

These things won’t stop unless we have a change of heart. They won’t stop unless we decide to work to change other hearts. They won’t stop until we join hands with people all over our country all over our world and say, actually, it’s not going to be that way any more.

Peace on Earth, isn’t something sweet you write on Holiday Cards. It’s what we’re meant for. It’s what our world deserves. Justice. Peace. Joy. Are we ready? Are we committed? The world is waiting for our gentle but insistent hands.