The religious traditions of the world affirm that we should treat others as we wish to be treated, but too often our laws are cruel. The religious traditions of the world affirm that justice is a sacred value but too often our laws are unjust. The religious traditions of the world affirm love over hatred, generosity over selfishness, and compassion over fear, but too often our laws are rooted in hatred, selfishness, and fear rather than in love, generosity, and compassion. The religious traditions of the world affirm human and planetary well-being, but too often our laws cause avoidable suffering among people and across the planet.

It is an act of faith to resist laws that are cruel, unjust, hateful, selfish, and fearful. It is an act of faith to resist laws that cause avoidable suffering. It is an act of faith to remember that laws, like all other human institutions, should be a means to the end of well-being, to demand that laws help all people to have good lives, to insist that laws represent our best moral vision possible, and to reject laws that cause harm.

And so, we bless all people carrying out acts of sacred civil disobedience, those who break the law in the spirit of the highest and best human good and holy vision. May their courage be strong, may their witness be an inspiration, and may they know that they are held by the love at the heart of the Divine.
 
Amanda Udis-Kessler, April 21, 2020
 
Amanda Udis-Kessler is a songwriter and published composer of sacred music (everysoulmusic.com; queersacredmusic.com), a writer (sermons, other worship materials, adult faith formation curricula, a sociology monograph, and other writings), and community educator on matters of religion, social inequality, and social justice. She has a sociology doctorate from Boston College and a certificate from the Iliff School of Theology. She is the Director of Assessment and Program Review at The Colorado College. Contact her at amanda@amandaudiskessler.com.