Faith in a sad world

from w,
Different people lately have been saying to me 'What is wrong with the world today?' I lament about the bad news, of ecological mishaps, civil disturbances, - the news is full of sensational stories. Then I read some fine words in a Bible reading resource we use called Love to the World, and I have just re-lined it a bit to make it slow down, more like a poem to read aloud. And the picture above I made by using two images - one is the word 'Eternity' that a shabby old man once wrote on the pavements around Sydney over many years.

Faithfulness beyond failure

The ancient brothers and sisters in faith
lived amidst the rubble
of the once-beautiful Jerusalem temple,
so we Earthlings now live
amidst the growing ecological ruin
of a once-beautiful world.
We live amidst economic woes
wrought by inequity,
the spiritual abyss
of materialism gone mad.
the never-ending chain of violence,
destruction and death.
heritage of prejudice.
selfish exploitation.

But our planet wide failures
are not the end of the story.
We, too, must take our consequences on the chin,
prosper amidst our catastrophes,
work together in unimaginable hope
for the future to which God calls us
-one renewed humanity
dancing in tune
with its Creator.

Adapted from Rev Dr Tim Bose’s piece in Love to the World Pentecost edition