These are not easy days in our nation—and beyond. The onslaught of violence is hard to
comprehend, and we cry out to the Lord.
We want to find the balance between trust in God’s providence while at
the same time acting for justice in the world.
Neither passivity nor sheer activism will suffice. We pray for courage and faithfulness even
while reeling from episodic viciousness that only lightly prizes life.
Two
lectionary texts for this coming Sunday offer constructive guidance. Psalm 107 recounts the varied hardships of
wilderness wandering, with the concomitant hunger and thirst. Near fainting, the people cast themselves
upon God.
Then they
cried to the Lord in their trouble, and God delivered them
from their
distress; God led them by a straight way, until they reached an
inhabited
town (vv. 6-7).
Their willingness to continue on, persevering against harsh realities,
ensured the continuity of the people of covenant. And God did not abandon them.
The Epistle
to the Colossians also reassures beleaguered believers, beckoning them not to
focus solely on the present with its urgent disputes, but to remember their
identity in Christ. The author exhorts:
Set your
minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for
you have
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (3:2-3).
The language is striking.
God gathers believers into the security Christ enjoys in God’s
safekeeping.
In times
when violence convulses our world, I reflect on our friends in Myanmar who have
managed a faithful balance amidst the conflict in their land. They pray with great fervor and trust; they
also find ways to work for greater liberty and justice as a religious
minority. They know that their security
is ultimately in God’s hands even though many suffer as they balance their
faith and prophetic action.
We can
learn from them. If persons of faith do
not protest this current wave of atrocities and xenophobic rhetoric, we have
lost our moral compass. Even if it
causes us to be vulnerable, we must speak and act for those whose voices are
discounted.
Molly T.
Marshall
Central prepares creative leaders to speak and act for
justice.
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