
The words put me in mind of attributes of the Source of All Life, partially revealed in the story of Moses in his encounter with the Holy One of Being at the bush that burned but was not consumed (Exodus 3:1-15):
“I
have observed the misery of my people...I have heard their cry . . . I know
their suffering . . . I have come down to deliver them from slavery . . . .I will bring them to a good land . . . "

The beautiful story of the beginnings of humankind found in the Book of Genesis affirms that humankind is created in "the image and likeness" of the Creator. While I am not a Biblical literalist, I take this to point to the notion that we all carry the attributes of the Holy One to some degree - we have the capacity for creativity, for curiosity, for profoundly loving relationships. We also have the capacity to observe, and hear and know - - the capacity to Witness the lives of others. We have the capacity to "come down" - to be a Presence in solidarity with those who suffer. We have the capacity to BE the Unconditional Love alluded to in the affirmation that "I am the God of your ancestors" - the source of creative loving that has accompanied humankind through thick and thin since the beginning of creation.
These
attributes lead us to a high calling in our life together as a community of human beings committed to living nonviolence in our personal lives and in the world beyond the boundaries of our comfort zones. The good news is that we are already familiar
with these attributes. Indeed, we
practice them every day when we witness,
we notice, we observe, we see. We
witness one another’s lives in the joys and the sorrows, the challenges and
celebrations, the fears and concerns, the illnesses and the healing that we go
through together in community. We witness
the effects of stress and joy, suffering and well-being, wholeness and brokenness on each other - and we learn empathy and compassion.
This attribute of witnessing is what makes the center hold in our personal spheres of influence. It is also what makes us more effective as we
take our caring into the world.
When
we are present to one another, we become the holy attribute of Presence. Some times we are called
upon to take action - to make a phone call in behalf of an important cause, to check in with each other when the news is stressful, or when an action is in need of support, to attend to one another when one of us is
suffering. Sometimes we are called upon
to be present to one another in profound
grief when there are simply no words to be said. We each have the capacity to be a Presence in
each other’s lives - whether through actual physical hands on help or through prayer, through words of
encouragement and comfort. Being a
Presence means saying “Hineini” - - here I am - - my spirit and my energy are
available to you - - I am part of your life.
Being a Presence means being a little bit of God available to the life
of another person.
And then there is the attribute of Unconditional Love. We know
from the long saga of God’s journey with Israel that God does not give up when
the going gets tough - - and the texts are full of reasons why God could
have just thrown up the proverbial divine hands and walked away in frustration
and disgust. But that did not happen. The love of the Holy One
for all of creation does not depend upon how faithful humans are, or how good or cooperative or thoughtful or
sensitive or caring or patient with each other we happen to be. Unconditional Love is just that - it
unaffected by the conditions of our lives. Being created in the Divine Image, we have the capacity to love one
another through thick and thin - - even when we aren’t sure we like each other
very much - even when we disagree about how things ought to be done, even when
we hurt one another’s feelings - even when things go terribly wrong. Being
Unconditional Love means being in our holy center where we do not get shaken by
the dramas and ups and downs of our daily interactions, by political differences, by our knee-jerk reactions to the most recent inflammation in the news - it means being Love
even when we don’t feel particularly loving.
To embrace the command, if you will, to be a Witness, a Presence, and Unconditional Love, is, perhaps, a partial answer to the questions "How do we access soul force?"and "Where do we find the strength to live nonviolently in our world?" Accessing "soul force" and strength for living nonviolently in the world begins with the practice of living out the Holy Attributes in community: practicing witnessing the lives of those around us; practicing being a Presence in the midst of joy and celebration and suffering and sorrow; practicing being Unconditional love that does not waver when the going gets tough. With practice, we may yet become the influence that will transform the world.
Vicky Hanjian
Vicky Hanjian
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