Dear friends,
What a clear, beautiful day after the swirling, bitter cold. There was a point last night when it seemed like the snow would blow forever. You’d think that after a decade or two of riding the ups and downs of life we’d finally get used to how quickly and profoundly things can change, but there’s always that part of us which still thinks that whatever we’re experiencing at the moment is all that matters.
But no darkness lasts forever, and when things change it can be with wonderful speed. I thank God for the moment of national repentance that we are passing through with the #MeToo movement, a movement begun ten years ago to help lower income women of color band together and deflect the shame of sexual exploitation and harassment from them and back onto the perpetrators. Now their courage and hard work are paying off for our whole society as the silent plague of daily harassment is lifted in one workplace after another.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 says “Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil.” We have heeded the Apostle Paul’s words; we have finally listened to some of our prophets.
But just as the blue skies and bright sun today won’t last forever, this moment of clarity is already under threat by a backlash. Some of the backlash is reasonable; yes, we don’t want a humorless world, nor one where single people aren’t free to flirt. And of course we have to be wary of false accusations, as always. However, the vast majority of the backlash against #MeToo is a plain attempt to go back to the old ways of silence, complicity, and constant abuse.
Just because the night is coming doesn’t mean we have to meet it unprepared. We can do work in the day that will make a permanent difference, no matter how bad things get. Certainly there’s reason to hope that #MeToo has produced a lasting change in what we consider acceptable behavior. As the Apostle says,
"May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The warm rays of God’s truth be with all of you this week,
Andrew