In a somber ceremony at Washington National Cathedral on January 9, 2025, our nation paid homage to the late President Jimmy Carter. Eulogies and the homily lauded his character, honesty, integrity, respect, compassion, love and care for all God’s creation.

Stu Eizenstat, a former advisor of the 39th President, reflected on Carter’s often overlooked groundbreaking tenure in the Whitehouse. His accomplishments included establishing a national energy policy, civil service reform, promoting environmental protections, championing human rights around the globe and brokering the Camp David agreement between long-standing adversaries, Egypt and Israel.

Seated in the front two rows were our five past, present and future presidents representing almost four decades of our nation’s increasingly contentious, divisive and often violent polarization. I wonder what each of them were thinking as they listened to speaker after speaker praise President Carter, not just for his character, but for his respect and love for his neighbors and his exhaustive efforts throughout his life working for the common good.

I wonder if any of them thought: “How did we get here? Could I have done anything differently to foster more unity? How do we bridge our differences and reclaim our character and integrity as a nation?”

On January 10, the day after Carter’s funeral, New York Judge Juan Merchan sentenced former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty on 34 counts of business fraud in May 2024. Considering Trump’s status as President-Elect, the sentence passed down to him was “unconditional discharge. Essentially, it was no sentence at all. 


After this, Mr. Trump expressed no gratitude for the court’s leniency nor remorse for his past actions. Instead, he railed against the legitimacy of the case and the prosecutor, vowing to appeal the conviction.

The most consequential aspect of the sentence is the certainty that a convicted felon, who has maligned our justice system and tainted our steadfast adherence to the rule of law, will now hold the highest position of authority in our nation, perhaps the world. That is alarming. 

However, even more alarming is that “we, the people,” elected him to that office. What does that say about the mindset of our people and the state of our nation?

On January 20th, we will observe two significant national events–Trump’s inauguration and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I don’t know that I could ever imagine a greater dichotomy than that represented by these two men: their lives and legacies, their character, personality, faith, differing commitments to equality, non-violence, loving one’s neighbor and the common good. 


Reflecting on all the events of this month, I sense the perfect storm of elements coming together to create turbulence, disturbance and change. Do we feel peace and harmony or turbulence and dissonance? 

If it is the latter, is the turbulence and dissonance enough to ignite change, prompting us to higher levels of consciousness, more compassionate hearts and the courage for right actions? Could the convergence of these events bring us to critical mass?

In popular culture and social science, “critical mass” is used metaphorically to refer to any context in which things change after a certain number of people adopt a particular idea, belief, behavior, way of life, etc. With critical mass attained, the change becomes sustainable. What is the change we long for, and how do we sustain it?

Cynthia Bourgeault, modern-day mystic and wisdom teacher, suggests we might be on the cusp of the next human evolution–higher levels of consciousness and a greater awareness of shared longings and our interconnectedness with all peoples and creation.

Are we at the end of an age? That’s an interesting question, especially considering the Middle Ages lasted approximately 1000 years (450 AD – 1450 AD), and it has been almost 1000 years since the current Modern Age began. Certainly, the unique events of the first weeks of 2025 have raised, for me at least, many questions we might want to ponder individually and collectively in the days ahead.


In “Love Is The Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times,” Bishop Michael Curry writes about the idea of “making do. Curry asks, “How do you turn the problem of reality into possibility,” adding, “Making do reaches fruition when someone dares to imagine another possibility greater than what appears to be reality.”


Amid this perfect storm, I wonder if enough of us can imagine and live into another possibility greater than what appears to be reality so that we might reach critical mass and sustain the greater possibility for us all. So many questions!

These questions deserve revisiting a line from Rainer Maria Rilke’s, “Letters to a Young Poet:”

Live the questions now. Perhaps then someday far

In the future, you will gradually, without even 

knowing it, live your way into the answer.

 

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