There have been a number of times
when I have been worried for this world.
With all of the arguments with North Korea, the possibility of nuclear
war loomed for a while. It still isn’t
out of the picture and it could still happen.
The killing of the Washington Post reporter at the hands of the Saudi
Arabians was an awful thing to see.
Again, it made me wonder about what was on the horizon. Then there are
the families at our border wanting asylum in the United States because of the
oppression in their native Central American countries who are having their
children taken from them and are living in terrible conditions as they are
repeatedly refused entrance in to this country.
As a country of immigrants, we ought to bee able to do something to take
care of their needs.
This is a confusing time that we are
living in. World peace seems more
elusive than ever and fear is not easily put aside. This is certainly a time when my faith is
more important to me than ever. Here in
the season of Advent there is certainly hope that our Lord and our God will
work to take care of creation.
The scriptures that we hear on this
day are promises to us by our creator that even though the world seems to be in
chaos and that we are all in danger of losing all that we have, our God is
close and will take care of us all. Even
though our Lord Jesus was crucified and buried, we know that on the third day
he rose from the grave and appeared to his disciples and to many so that they
knew again his joyful presence. Our God
tells us that he will come again to bring life where we only see death and give
back to God’s people all that they have lost.
We call this the “second coming” and we recite it in our creed.
Despite all of the chaos in the
world, God’s love will triumph over all.
The poorest of the poor have always been dear to our God. Jesus took care of the poor constantly. In our faith, we are asked to do the
same. This is the way that God’s love is
shown to the world. You and I are the
instruments of God’s purpose. While we
wait for God to finally make all things right in this world, we have the means
to make lives brighter for those who hurt.
Taking dinner to the people housed at one of the shelters in our town is
one way that this has been done. Another
is taking coats to places where they can be given to people who need them for
warmth this winter. There are many other
ways that show themselves to each of us daily.
Giving of ourselves for the benefit of others is God’s will for all of
us. There is certainly enough greed in
this world. Making life easier for those
who have nothing is the basis of our faith.
