Grimly Optimistic

Lections: The Baptism of the Lord , AD 2026 A Homily: Lord, we pray for the preacher, for you know his sins are great. Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations … A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. Bullying is not strength. Bullying is a weak man’s impersonation of strength. And I see it all the time: in the news, in television, often in our schools. Immature men—and it is largely men—imagine violence to be a virtue, as though might might make us right. I see little understanding of the power it takes to be gentle, to provide and to protect rather than simply to abuse. It is a weak man who cannot keep his viciousness in check. Our world would have us believe that gentleness is not just, nor is justice gentle; that we must choose between the pushover and the brute, the open heart and the closed fist. This, I think...