The Mob Song
I spent the weekend playing in the mountains, totally unplugged from social media, news, and phones. I came back into town on Sunday to see my Facebook feed filled with pictures of mobs carrying torches. At first, I didn’t know what to think of this, they looked like something from a history book. Soon I realized this wasn’t history, it is the present and my heart broke. How can this be?
The more I looked at the pictures and read the stories the more I was reminded of “Beauty and the Beast”. Strange, I know. Remember the scene towards the end of the movie when Gaston decides to go after Beast? He starts making up stories about Beast, scares the townspeople, and offers them a solution- ‘kill the beast’.
“We don't like What we don't understand In fact, it scares us And this monster is mysterious at least”
We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact, it scares us. Too often we are scared of the unknown, the other, things that are different and yet we do not take the time to understand them. It seems that when we encounter the mysterious we can choose to push it away or we can embrace it and try to understand it.
I wonder how different the world would be if we met difference with curiosity instead of fear. My faith has taught me to embrace the unknown, to respond in love and kindness even in the face of hatred and fear. I believe that God stands with the oppressed, works for justice, and calls us to love extravagantly. Yet those taking up torches claim to march in the name of the same God? No. The Gospel stands in resistance to this type of hatred and discrimination. Look at the truth tellers of our faith, Rev. King, Bonhoeffer, Jesus they all speak against oppression, hatred, fear and they stand for justice, love, and truth.
God, help us to build bridges not walls. Give us courage to do the hard work understanding other people’s stories. May we live out your radical love even in the face of adversity. Amen.













