“I am so small. I am so insignificant but the force that moves through me is so powerful that I must go forward.”
A Fire Horse drawn by Karin F.
This past week, many religious people moved into a period of re-focusing and re-dedicating themselves to God and the spiritual and religious aspects of their lives. On Wednesday Christians began Lent, a 40 day period of “fasting” and Muslims began Ramadan, a 30 day period of complete daytime fasting. Most UUs don’t observe either of these fasts religiously, but some do come up with their own plans to re-focus and hold back from some kind of harmful behavior. The Pope has suggested fasting from hateful speech.
For many, fasting from food and water is a reminder of complete dependence on God (or for some of us, the earth’s biosphere.) I read an article this week that said that services of fasting and prayer have been organized by Christian churches and evangelical refugee resettlement agencies in Minnesota, in the wake of legal refugees from Myanmar being detained or deported. Evangelicals and other Christians have also written letters and made calls, tried to get audiences with officials, looked for immigration lawyers, delivered food to hiding families, and taken flights and road trips to Texas to pick up some of these fellow church members when they’ve been released without documents, identification, or belongings.
In addition to Lent and Ramadan, the Year of the Fire Horse began with Tuesday’s Lunar New Year. In Asian cultures, it is said this will be an intense and tumultuous year, a year of rapid, bold, transformative and sometimes volatile change. I believe it. A Fire Horse is said to burn away falsehoods and encourage deep personal or societal reinvention. It is a symbol of intense energy, passion, independence, persistence, rebellion and decisive action.
May some Fire Horse energy sustain us… through Ramadan, Lent, and the year beyond. In faith,
Rev. Lee
Phone: 978-687-7948