{"id":25299,"date":"2025-05-29T10:13:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T14:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=25299"},"modified":"2025-05-29T10:13:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T14:13:40","slug":"embracing-the-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=25299","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the Shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Spirit Song (John Wimber)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FAn_Be4HS9A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Collective Shadow: Hate Disguised as Love&nbsp;<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Thursday, May 29, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Feast of the Ascension<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just because ego and greed and hatred are doing cosplay as religion, I don\u2019t want us to give it that much credit. I want us to insist that no, there is real religion!<br>\u2014Omid Safi&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In an episode of CAC\u2019s podcast&nbsp;<\/em>Everything Belongs<em>, CAC staff member and poet Drew Jackson dialogues with guest Omid Safi, a poet and Islamic scholar. Jackson asks: How might poetry support our efforts for peace, particularly in the conflicted space between religious identities? Safi shares his perspective that it is not religions that are in conflict, but the shadow selves of hate and other harmful beliefs disguised as religion:<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I fundamentally do not believe that there is religious conflict and tension in this world. There\u2019s conflict in this world! There is genocide in this world\u2014we\u2019ve been watching it for a year and a half. There is racism, there is starvation, and the intentional starvation of people. There\u2019s occupation. There\u2019s lots of hideous things happening.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that\u2019s ego, and that\u2019s greed, and that\u2019s selfishness that\u2019s putting the small self individually, communally, nationally, and racially on the throne of wrong and to put, as Brother Martin [Luther King Jr.] used to say, <strong>the right forever on the scaffold<\/strong>.\u202f[1] <strong>Greed and ego and hatred love to do cosplay [2].\u2026 Their favorite costumes are the things that are of light, including religion.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want us to really sit with that question: <strong>Is there actually religious conflict in this world with what we find<\/strong> <strong>our religious traditions teaching us? A<\/strong>t the heart of the Jewish faith, that beautiful noble t<strong>radition:\u00a0<em>Be kind to the stranger for you yourselves were once strangers in Egypt.<\/em>\u00a0(Deuteronomy 10:19)<\/strong>.<em>\u00a0<\/em>Our beloved Christ:<em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong>Be kind to the poor, the orphan, the needy, the widow; that which you do to\u202fthe<em> <\/em>least of the<em>se, <\/em>you do un<em>to me<\/em>\u00a0(Matthew 25:40)<\/strong>. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad:<em>\u00a0<\/em><strong>That\u00a0the cry of the orpha<em>n <\/em>rises all the way up to the throne of God and shakes it to its mighty foundation.<\/strong>\u00a0[3] These folks are drinking from the same fountain. They\u2019re bathed in the same light.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want us to be able to discern the meaning of that beautiful prayer of the Prophet Muhammad when he says, \u201cMy Lord, allow us to see things as they are in You. <strong>Allow us to see things as they are in truth.\u201d<\/strong> Just because ego and greed and hatred are doing cosplay as religion, I don\u2019t want us to give it that much credit. I want us to insist that no, there is real religion! <strong>There\u2019s real faith, and it\u2019s humble and it carries the scent of love and concern, not just for our own kind, but for all of us.<\/strong>\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>____________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah Young Jesus Calling<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn to relate to others through My Love rather than yours<\/strong>. <strong>Your human love is ever so limited, full of flaws and manipulation.<\/strong> My loving Presence, which always enfolds you, is available to bless others as well as you. <strong>Instead of trying harder to help people through your own paltry supplies, become aware of M<\/strong>y <strong>unlimited supply, which is accessible to you continually<\/strong>. <strong>Let My Love envelop your outreach to other people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of My precious children have fallen prey to burnout. A better description of their condition might be \u201cdrainout.\u201d Countless interactions with needy people have drained them, without their conscious awareness. You are among these weary ones, who are like wounded soldiers needing R&amp;R. <strong>Take time to <\/strong>rest in the Love-Light of My Presence. <strong>I will gradually restore to you the energy that you have lost over the years<\/strong>. Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and you will find rest for your souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED BIBLE VERSES:<br><strong>Exodus 33:14 NLT<\/strong><br><strong><em>14<\/em>&nbsp;The LORD replied, \u201cI will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest\u2014everything will be fine for you.\u201d (Related scriptures = Exodus 12:21, Joshua 22:4, Isiah 63:9)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matthew 11:28 NLT<\/strong><br><strong><em>28<\/em>&nbsp;Then Jesus said, \u201cCome to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Related scripture = Jeremiah 6:16)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional insight regarding Matthew 11:28-30: A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens of (1) sin, (2) excessive demands of religious leaders, (3) oppression and persecution, or (4) weariness in the search for God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus frees people from all these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. <strong>A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><u>Today&#8217;s Prayer<\/u>: Dear God, I thank You for Your boundless love that surpasses my human limitations. Guide me to relate to others through Your loving presence rather than relying on my own inadequate abilities. I recognize the need for rest and rejuvenation, for I&#8217;ve often felt drained by trying to help others in my own strength. Like a wounded soldier needing R&amp;R, I come to You seeking restoration. As I rest in the light of Your love, I trust in Your promise to renew my energy and refresh my soul. Thank You for inviting the weary and burdened to find rest in Your arms. In your Son&#8217;s name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Collective Shadow: Hate Disguised as Love&nbsp; Thursday, May 29, 2025 Feast of the Ascension Just because ego and greed and hatred are doing cosplay as religion, I don\u2019t want us to give it that much credit. I want us to insist that no, there is real religion!\u2014Omid Safi&nbsp; In an episode of CAC\u2019s podcast&nbsp;Everything Belongs, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25299"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25300,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25299\/revisions\/25300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}