Every other week I go through this ritual of frenzied cleaning out old magazines and papers to put them into recycling. Last week I picked up an old magazine holder and realized it was full of issues of the Christian Century from 2017. (I know what you’re thinking – 2017?) Looking at back issues made me realize that many of the issues remain the same.
As Christians, we were looking to put an end to gun violence, create a just immigration system, and concerned about climate change. Immigrant families were still being separated from each other, put into hideous detention centers, eating only noodles and moldy bread while we paid companies exorbitant amounts to hold them.
It was really quite depressing, really, but then there were small glimmers of grace, one almost might say hope in spite of what we are experiencing now: an article by a woman who finally took her abusive husband to court, church communities feeding people in the light of disaster, churches declaring themselves sanctuaries. It seems at times that our struggles for justice never ends, but as we try to live the Gospel, we know that we are always accompanied by the One who shared a new vision of God.
Prayer for the Day
Patient God, we seem to be caught in the same struggles,
And it seems that so little changes in the world around us;
Transform our despair into the hope we find in you,
And help us respond to those who need us.
Enable us to continue the work of healing in the world,
Knowing that in the end, justice will reign.
In the name of the One who accompanies us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist (1818-1895)
Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work; you don’t’ give up.
Anne Lamott, American writer
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them, so that those who love you, may exult.
Psalm 5: 11.