I would say about individuals, an individual dies when he ceases to be surprised. I am surprised every morning that I see the sunshine again. When I see an act evil I'm not accommodated. I don't accommodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere; I'm still surprised. That's why I'm against it, why I can hope against it. We must learn how to be surprised. Not to adjust ourselves.
I am the most maladjusted person in society.
- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, quoted on Speaking of Faith
There are plenty of opportunities in our digital age to not only be surprised by acts of violence, disrespect, and blatant arrogance, but stunned into a state of shock. With each story we wonder if things can get worse. Rabbi Heschel suggests that we don't allow the initial acts of wrongdoing to become trivial when compared to the rapidly advancing degree of corruption upon our sensibilities. We try so hard when raising our children to make sure they are well adjusted. They are graded at school on their ability to bend with change and revise their expectations to meet the common end.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, There is nothing common about your kingdom, your love, and your peace. We are surprised when we encounter examples of random kindness and spectacles of deliberate harm; demonstrations of love and patterns of rejection. Jesus was maladjusted to many of his contemporaries. He refused to vary his ideals for the sake of getting along with those who sought to manipulate laws and situations to deliver their venom. We seek your strength as we combat a daily barrage of news clips and printed horrors and that we not become adjusted to its tenor. We ask for continued disbelief for injustices and surprise in the sunshine. Amen
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