Is Another World Possible?

~ by Samir Selmanovic

Today, I doubt. I doubt that Faith House is possible. I feel depressed about it. I wonder if I should quit.

All afternoon, I drove aimlessly around Orange County, stopping to eat, only to walk out without food, to just sit in the car. It is not that I don’t have anything to do. There is so much to do, I don’t know even where to start to make a dent on the list. My inner monologues go in circles, “How did I ever get myself into this? The city will crush our daily lives. Resistance of established religiosity will crush people’s spirits. New supporters will not step up and the current ones will forget about us. People will never come. . . How did I get myself into this? The city will crush out daily lives. Resistance of established …” On and on the tape goes.

After sitting in my car in a parking lot staring at nothing for fifteen minutes, I say a prayer and walk into a coffee shop one block further down the road, and resolve to tackle the to-do list. There, I sit aimlessly for another half hour. I drift from self-pity to fear. I dread finding an apartment in New York that is too small and too expensive, that I start talking to myself, then laughing my pain out loud about, then talking to myself again as I walk back to the car.

At times, during the last twelve months, I have been propelled forward by the sheer happiness of what Faith House can be. But on days like this, I feel sad and discouraged. It takes enormous energy to comfort myself.

That’s when I turn to my friends for glimmers of hope. Recently, my friend from Emergent Village, Damien O’Farrell e-mailed me a picture that his friend had just taken in Israel. It’s a picture of a wall that separates Muslims and Jews.

Somewhere in my files, I found the original quote from Arundhati Roy:

“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen . . . with our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our sheer relentlessness—and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we're being brainwashed to believe . . . . Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

Today, I had a noisy day, the voices in my head chanting songs of fear I have picked up along the way from the empires of our religions, nations, and corporations. They have been yelling one thing, but God has been whispering another.

What do you think my friends? Is a new world possible? Has it been possible in your country, in your town, in your family? What do you hear God whispering while the empires are yelling? Your advice, stories, poems, and prayers have power and influence. Please share them with us on the web site. If a new world is possible, we need you to help us hear her breathing.

Comments

[courtney]

Those who don't think a new world is possible will likely never see it, though it may exist right in front of their eyes. People like you, Samir, and like peacemakers standing in the face of historically impossible odds, are the ones revealing glimpses of that new world already. But there are plenty who will always refuse to look.

We must believe in our power, and the power of God within ALL, to create the reality of a world where love and justice prevail. When I think my heart is about to explode from the bitter suffering and total injustice seen everywhere (or the pathetic apathy in myself or those around me), I dash to stories of action, hope, courage, change and faith. Remember, remember, remember. Now sucks, but there is something more than now. There always is and always has been. It's up to all of us to make the better way(s) a tangible reality. And I believe that we can. Because there is simply no other option.

[Samir Selmanovic]

Courtney, I can live by borrowing some of your faith now when seeking peace and justice under sun looks like a complete fiasco. I am glad we are all discouraged at different times.

Next time when I feel hopeful, I will remember, remember, remember. And as Bruce Cockburn sings, "I will scrape little shavings off my ration of light and form it into a ball, and each time I will pack a bit more onto it, and I will make a bowl of my hands and scoop that light from its secret cache under a loose board in the floor and then blow it across and send it to you against those moments when the darkness blows under your door." (from song: That's What Friends Are For)

[Danette]

Doubt. Through life changing events and daily struggle, it is my belief that doubt is what makes people better facilitators for change and hope...in whatever circumstance.

Without doubt, one cannot fully appreciate the enormity, challenges that come and have the ability to prepare and commit to the cause.

The beauty of this is that through doubt is when we see the flicker of hope...and although it may seem small, it is THAT hope that keeps us focused and keeps people fighting for a better way/understanding/change.

[Nathan Brown]

As NT Wright has put it, "It takes imagination to live in the world of God." But imagination can be a fickle thing. Great things—whether big or small—require a stubbornness of imagination.

"You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen."

Walk on.

[David Oceguera]

Samir, let me begin by saying that "Faith House" hopes for the rest of us. A new world becomes possible with the birth of an idea. The idea that beckons us, to listen to the whisper of God, the one that promises hope, as we journey towards the world that exudes justice, love and acceptance. The whisper that outlasts the voices of the empires. The whisper that instills in us the faith and courage to persevere in working toward that new world, even in the face of doubt and hopelessness.

Courtney made a good point, "that those who don't believe in a new world will likely never see it" that is so true. But it doesn't mean that it can't exist. I truly believe Faith House is a way to begin the vision of that new world. I remember hearing you say in one of your sermons, that after every end, there is a new beginning. Faith house is that new beginning. A refreshing view that humanity still has a chance to change the world, and do so together. I wish I could pick up and go with you to New York.

[Tim]

I trucked over to read your other thoughts after listening to "God in the Other", and I was deeply moved by your comments here. You articulate in a way I can't the frustration, the longing, the yearning for God's "kingdom come." I see glimpses of it - often in unexpected places - and God plants a little hope. Your heartbeat for newness planted a litle as well. Thanks.

[Simona]

Everything is possible. Generally, we do not wrestle with the possibility, but with our vision of probability of things. So... let me ask you a different question - what is the probability of success versus failure of your dream? And even more important one - does it really matter? Someone said that for things to happen, it is necessary to have a combination of two things - readiness and opportunity - God gives the opportunity, but we must be ready to take it in order to make things happen. And, after all, as you have experienced so many times in your life, isn't there a powerful promise that the door God opens no one will be able to close? My take on that promise is that if the door is open, you have a duty to go through them. So... doubts are a part of normal human life - every change, good and bad alike, brings anxiety and fear due to our inability to see through the next moment into the future. I cannot tell you not to doubt, because doubt is a gift that comes with rationality. The only question is how are you going to use your doubt - constructively, or destructively? That choice is entirely yours.