Protect Your PeaceWell, we’ve started this year with great intensity. Remember to breathe. Relax your shoulders. Soften your brow. Protect your peace This week, I felt led to engage with the lead article in Sojourners’ latest edition, titled “We Need More ‘Heaven-Talk’: Why escapism is actually theological genius,” by Nick Peterson. It’s a powerful piece that highlights how “small acts of holy witness… can function as profound resistance without necessarily conforming to the world’s understanding of struggle.” Peterson speaks of moments when one engages the imagination—methods of escaping present realities—as modes of resistance. He challenges critics who dismiss visions of heaven as mere escapism, arguing that this “heaven-talk” is not only valid but also deeply liberative. Peterson calls escapism “theological genius,” in which heaven is understood as both worldly and otherworldly. The Spirituals are a profound example—songs that weave together the literal and the figurative, the harsh reality of slavery with the deep theological hope of bodily and spiritual liberation. Peterson writes, “Without God’s vision of heaven, we do not know what God’s will concerning humans is.” We hear this echoed in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When we pray those words, we are calling for a world that reflects heaven—a world infused with justice, peace, and divine imagination. We’re going to need to embrace a little holy escapism to protect our peace. We must intentionally disconnect from the relentless news cycles that threaten our mental and emotional well-being. We need moments of song and dance, meditation and laughter—pauses of sacred escape that refuel our souls so we can run on and see what the end is gonna be. I hope you’ll join me in creating rituals and rhythms of joy and peace, even in the midst of the work of resistance. We have much to do in 2026. We cannot afford to be delusional about our reality—we need clear eyes and courageous hearts. But we also cannot afford to be consumed by the constant onslaught. We need spiritual and physical practices to help us endure. So I ask you: What practices will you intentionally take up this year? What rhythms of joy are on deck for when you need to recharge? Write them down. Post them somewhere visible—for the days when you’re at your wits' end. Protect your peace, beloved. Protect. Your. Peace. — Rev. Moya Harris, Senior Director of Programs, Sojourners |
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