When the Cracks Appear: Facing Collapse with Open Eyes and Open Hearts
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” — Psalm 118:22
There’s a story from Jewish Midrash about the Tower of Babel that feels uncannily familiar right now.
The builders of the tower were determined to create something so vast, so towering, that it would reach the heavens. They believed this would secure their legacy, their greatness, their safety. It wasn’t enough to live well on the earth — they wanted to conquer the sky itself.
As the tower grew, the work became brutal. The laborers were pushed harder. The higher the tower reached, the more dangerous the work became. If a worker fell to their death? No one flinched. But if a brick was dropped, construction halted until it was replaced.
The bricks mattered more than the people.
The project became more important than the lives it consumed.
That is the sickness of extractive systems, the sickness of Empire. That is the evil of any system that places power and profit above human life.
It feels like that now, doesn’t it?
Our leaders have been building a tower — not of stone, but of reckless policies and cruel ideologies. They believed they could defy the limits of our economy, our planet, our common humanity. They believed they could cut down every system that supported real life — education, healthcare, public safety, neighborliness — and still reach the heavens.
But the tower is teetering.
Markets are faltering, as they must when built on a foundation of arrogance and exploitation. Systems are failing under the weight of their own corruption. While the crash feels sudden, the truth is: the harm has been happening all along. We simply see it more clearly now.
It is right to grieve this moment. It is faithful to feel the sorrow of collapse. But Midrash invites us to see something else too: the scattering at Babel was not just a consequence of centering human supremacy. It was an opportunity to begin again, to leave behind the cruelty of the tower and build something grounded in Life.
We are not powerless.
As the tower crumbles, we are the builders of what comes next. In our choices — to tend to our neighbors, to speak out for justice, to preserve truth, to care for our fragile earth — we lay the cornerstones of a different kind of community. One where people are never sacrificed for bricks. One where power does not replace compassion.
Collapse is real. But so is Creation.
We grieve what is being lost. But we dare to plant what will rise.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where in your life have you seen signs of quiet collapse before this moment?
How is grief showing up in your body and spirit? Can you make space to feel it?
What “cornerstones” can we begin to lay now for a new kind of community, one not built on towers of harm?
A Prayer for the Day
Prayer for the Days When Towers Fall
God of the broken and the brave,
Today, we stand in the rubble of what we thought was steady.
We feel the tremors in our bones,
The ache of fear and grief beneath our skin.
We confess: we are weary of watching the powerful build towers to their own glory,
Stacking brick upon brick of greed, lies, and violence.
We confess: we are tired of seeing people — beloved souls — crushed beneath their weight.
And yet, O God, even as stones fall and dust chokes the air,
We hear a whisper beneath the collapse:
“You are not alone.”
Help us to remember that in the breaking open, light can reach us.
We do not carry the work of rebuilding alone.
Strengthen our hands to clear away the rubble.
Soften our hearts to feel the pain of this moment without being undone by it.
Give us the courage to imagine something more beautiful than the tower ever was.
Make of us co-creators of your entangled earth —
A place where every person is seen, honored, and safe.
A place where truth is cherished more than power,
And where love is the mortar that holds us together.
Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Feeling the Cracks, Planting the Seeds
Today, pause and let yourself feel the weight of this moment—not as a way of giving in to despair, but as a way of honoring truth.
Find a small, physical object: a stone, a piece of wood, a seed. Hold it in your hand. Let it remind you that even in collapse, something solid remains. Say aloud:
“What is collapsing is not all that there is.”
Now, imagine one small way you can build Life in the space that collapse leaves behind.
Maybe it’s calling a neighbor to check in.
Maybe it’s sharing a meal.
Maybe it’s planting something in the earth.
Whatever it is, let this act be your quiet defiance against despair. Let it be your refusal to serve the tower.
One act at a time, we build the new world.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
May 19-22, 2025 - Preaching and Worship FREE Online Summit: From war to genocide to a global climate crisis to a nation that perpetuates racism, misogyny, transphobia, and more from the highest office in the land, how do we prepare a sermon, a liturgy, a song, a prayer? Learn from some of our best preachers. REGISTER HERE.
June 4, 2025, 12pm ET - Jeff Chu has written a new book on a topic close to my heart: Soil! The title is “Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand.” I am so pleased to be interviewing him. Together, we’ll explore what it means to cultivate “good soil” in our lives, our communities, and our spiritual practices. I hope you will register. Your registration includes a copy of his new book.
July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more. Only one spot left!
August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Mark your calendars! More on this soon.
September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
With eyes wide open... "all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away." When the collapse comes, some will be glad and some will be sad. Thank you, Ezra and Cameron!