Just a word before we go...Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time...October 11, 2026

There is a large berry bush in our backyard, immediately next to the neighbor’s garage. The bush attracts birds all day long, flying in and out and chirping loudly.  Several of the birds found a more sheltered home in the roof and eaves of that garage. We would watch them burrow in and fly out, bringing bits of food for what was presumably their nest inside. 

Our neighbors had a new roof installed, repairing the eaves and thereby blocking access for the birds.  Recently, I‘ve noticed that several birds gather on the garage at the spot where they used to enter the eave; this happens every day; they have finally given up trying to enter the eave, but they resolutely rest on the spots where they used to enter. It occurred to me that they were sitting shiva for the home and nestlings they have lost.

Our Jewish friends sit shiva when a close relative dies. They often cover mirrors and practice other rituals while remaining at home for seven days, refraining from the ordinary business of life.  This time apart provides a space for healing, both emotional and spiritual.

Perhaps we also are sitting shiva, here in this sacred place, and in our ordinary lives, as we try to comprehend the atrocities unfolding across the globe.  We aren’t covering mirrors or staying home, but we are trying to come to grips with the hate and disregard for human life that feeds the barbarism being unleashed on the people of so many war-torn areas of our world, and even within our own country. The history of each conflict is complex, and gives rise to varied explanations for the current crises; but whatever version of events one subscribes to, the loss of life and the sheer terror of trying to survive in these areas, is mind and heart-numbing. 

Many leaders, religious and secular, have written this week, decrying the violence and calling for an end to hatred and division, in word and in deed.  Some have offered prayers for the people directly affected, and for us all.  I am reminded of the words of Rose Marie Berger, a Catholic peace activist and poet, who wrote these words when the most recent Israeli and Palestinian war erupted, words that apply to all the death and destruction we are facing around the globe:  O God … “Send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by the violence and death” (that surrounds us). “Guide religious leaders to model unity and reconciliation across lines of division. Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it. Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence...Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression.  Let hearts mourn rather than militarize...Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets.  Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone.”

Let us pray; let us sit shiva for the tremendous loss of life; and let us work for God’s dream for humanity, as envisioned by Isaiah.

Amen.