You’ve probably heard the expression “going to hell in a handbasket.” It seems to fit our world today. There is so much injustice, so much violence in our world: poverty, homelessness, illiteracy; drugs, gangs, disaffected spousal murders; kidnappings, bombings, plots, ISIS, genocide, military takeovers. The list goes on, and that’s not even mentioning natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, and ice storms.
“Where on earth is God?” we ask. Answer: “Everywhere.”
Everywhere there is pain and deprivation, there is God. Everywhere there is violence and death, there is God. Everywhere there is disaster, there is God. God is there, creating order out of chaos, birthing new life out of the old. God is there, weeping, comforting, holding, loving, forgiving, rejoicing in all the faithful who lift up God’s name in hope, who remember and trust in the promise of eternal life.
We who know God are called to hold up for others our hope for a blessed future, our conviction of God’s forgiving presence, our firm trust in God’s steadfast love for us and the promise of eternal life.
Creator God, thank you, for your presence within and among us. Thank you, for forgiving us for the chaos to which we contribute. Thank you, for your promise of eternal life. Amen. — SB