This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
We are stumbling on our way toward the day of Resurrection, gracious God. Stumbling and falling, sometimes crawling on our knees toward the cross, hoping that when we lift our tear-filled eyes, it will be empty, that the tomb will be empty, that your promise of New Life will indeed be real and we can sing with our hearts and voices:
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
But these recent days, as we approach Good Friday, have been difficult ones in which to see the reality of Resurrection, filled as they have been with death and destruction:
- The truck attack in Stockholm, Sweden, which killed four.
- The explosion in Diyarbakir, Turkey, which injured at least four.
- The fire gutting the Grande-Synthe Dunkirk migrant camp in France, home of 1500 migrants, with at least ten injured.
- The two deadly blasts which hit Coptic Christian churches in Alexandria and Tanta, Egypt, killing more than forty people and injuring over 100, including several police officers.
- The severe frosts and snowstorms affecting Central Europe in which at least 25 have died, mainly in Poland and Serbia. The weather is primarily affecting the homeless and refugees, with more harsh weather predicted in coming days.
- The killing of Criminal court judge Raymond Myles shot outside his home in Chicago, Illinois,United States (USA).
- The ever-rising death toll of refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea that, according to the UN Refugee Agency, rose to 5000 in 2016.
- The building tensions between the USA and North Korea, in response to the air strike to Syria.
- The USA drops the largest non-nuclear bomb ever made in Afghanistan.
- The planned execution of eight men beginning the day after Easter by the State of Arkansas, USA.
And amid the darkness of Good Friday, we turn to you, Father/Mother God, not as we ought but as we are able, trying to discern our place, our role, in the healing of this hurting world, seeking to be the people you are continually calling us to be, seeking to find hope and joy and peace, so that we can sing with our hearts and voices:
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
And soon, Easter will be upon us. The day of Resurrection will be here and our newly opened eyes encouraged by signs of New Life and Hope:
- Malala Yousafzai, born in the Swat Valley, Pakistan, the young woman shot by the Taliban for going to school, being made the youngest ever U.N. Messenger of Peace.
- Amnesty International report that global executions have fallen 37% since 2015, with the USA being removed from the top 5 for the first time since 2006.
- The coastguard of Italy and their rescue of more than 300 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea on flimsy rubber boats.
- A restaurant in Tripoli, Lebanon offering free meals to the poor and needy, feeding 185 to 200 daily.
- The discovery of a 14,000-year-old Ice Age village on Triquet Island, British Columbia, Canada, with carbon dating placing it older than the pyramids in Egypt.
- Pope Francis rallying many Roman Catholic cardinals, bishops, and priests to oppose immigration crackdowns throughout the world; and his planned visit to Egypt to meet with the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II.
Amid the glowing light of truth and new life, the reality of grace and hope for our world, we give thanks, not as we ought but as we are able, opening our hearts and hands, our minds and wills to your leading, Holy One, living in the assurance that in you there is indeed Resurrection and New Life, and so we sing with hearts and voices:
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Let it be so. Amen and amen.
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