Our nation is on fire, quite literally, this week. We and the people we care about are feeling fear, anxiety, a relentless uncertainty about what is to come next. Every scary news story this week has been beyond my imaginations of what could happen to people. And in that fear - the fear of the now, the fear of the unknown, the fear for our future - I am reminded that far too often I have trusted institutions to protect us, and when those institutions fail, I am left with a terrifying hopelessness. And so I write this to remind myself that in these times, especially, I must reflect on the promises of a faithful God for hope. I remind myself that my God is a God of justice. He rejected cultural norms of a perverted justice to uplift a justice that was not prejudicial, did not favor those in power, was compassionate and yet consistent in conviction. The Lord says to Zechariah: "do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, the poor, and let none of you devise evil again...