One thing has struck me about the events of the last 18 months – in particular what has happened during the COVID pandemic, the increasing impact of global warming and the climate crisis, but also the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the re-emergence of the Taliban. It is that the big questions of life and death and of sacrifice and purpose and of suffering have been at the heart of what we have lived through.
Bad things happen to good people. Innocent people suffer at the hands of greedy or misguided or just plain thoughtless people. Everyone – good or bad, rich or poor – is at risk from major natural disasters like pandemics although, as always, the worst of the cost is borne by those who are most vulnerable.
Where is God in this? Does he care? How can he allow such wanton destruction and the suffering of those least able to defend themselves?
These are not new questions. Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the Redeemer of the world, warns his disciples that there will still be war, there will still be disasters, earthquakes, famines, even though he offers himself as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. This is the beginning of the birth pangs he says, the end is still to come.
On my shelf in my office I have one of those cards with a helpful and encouraging message: ‘Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it isn’t the end.’ In a nutshell, this card gathers up the whole message of the Bible, all 783,000 words, 31,000 verses, 1,189 chapters of it.
Everything is not okay in this life, on this earth today. People die, mourned by those who love them. Many lives are cut short by violence, disease, or famine. Wars are fought so that good will drive out evil and some battles are won but many are lost.
And yet, in the end we know that good will triumph over evil. We have the promise in Jesus Christ that ultimately love wins – love wins over hate, compassion trumps cruelty, peace reigns even in war, joy dispels sadness. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness will never, can never overcome it.
One day, the Bible promises there will be a new heaven and a new earth and Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, will reign as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Then there will be no more crying, no more mourning and no more sadness. All the old things will pass away and a new creation will be born. Today we witness those birth pangs and we weep with Jesus over the destruction of his temple, our world. He weeps with us at the graveside, on the battlefield, by the hospital bed. We are not alone as we mourn, and the end is in sight.
I have one other cheery card on my shelf, this time a quote from Winston Churchill – ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going’.
So let us keep going, let us travel on together through the world’s pain, holding before us the light of Christ and the promise of good to come. Let’s keep going, brothers and sisters together, looking for signs of the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace as we go, and doing all the good we can, where we can, as a sign of our commitment to the future and in love for our fellow travellers. Amen
Dorothea 