Morning Prayer today includes Psalm 122 with its verses about Jerusalem— its unity, peace, and prosperity.
I’ve lived in cities most of my life and have associated the hope of the Scriptures for Jerusalem to apply to all cities—for me, Philadelphia, Trenton, New York, Portland and Seattle. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. I imagine because, in his compassion, he knew the hard road humanity faced before the promise of the city would be realized. I think we’re all part of that story.
I shared those thoughts this morning with a friend who's been working to help the police force in Seattle be and do better. There's been a lot of progress in recent years. Also, a lot of pain and courage. She's part of that story.
I have my views on what should happen to address policing, homelessness, economic troubles, the pandemic, gentrification, nightly protests and often violence, and our inability to speak and listen across the divide. Some long held, some changed. At the moment I find it hard to see a sustainable way forward. My certainty isn't all that certain.
There are always those who "know" with certainty. Thankfully, they rarely get to impose their utopia on everyone else. What's that line?--"No one wants to live in someone else's utopia."
In the moments when sanity regains its hold on me it's usually with some paradoxical truth.
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.(Luke 19:41, 42)
Jerusalem is built as a city *
that is at unity with itself (Ps. 122:3)
rag+
Resources
Stay in the City ( a mission strategy paper Philadelphia 1980)
Spirituality and Urban Parish Revitalization
Contemplation - Intercession - Action