Easter has come and gone. It seems little has changed. Putin is still sending drones into Ukraine, right-wing Israeli “settlers” are still killing Palestinians, and people in Sudan are still starving. In his Easter homily, Pope Leo called for the leaders of war to lay down their arms. And although war-mongering powers may not quip out loud as did Stalin, “How many divisions does the pope have?” they act the same.
Here at home, we are now being told there’s no money to pay for child care, Medicaid, or Medicare because “We’re fighting wars.” On Saturday, in a social media post, we saw the words regarding an ultimatum to Iran: “Time is running out — 48 hours before all hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD.”
Quoting Isaiah, the Pope said, “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen — your hands are full of blood,” and added a comment on “partisan selfishness” which denies care to the most vulnerable. The Easter question for us as Christians, is how we respond to two diametrically opposed views of the world.
Prayer for the Day
We pray for peace in a warlike world, O God,
But that was yesterday when we believed in Easter;
We ask for governments to care for people, O Lord,
But the truth seems to be that the Pilates are in charge.
Embolden us, O Holy One, to take on the powers of death,
And bring us into a world where we all truly have peace.
In the name of the One who lives in us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
For the cost of 3 weeks of this war, we could provide vision, hearing, and dental coverage to every senior on Medicare for a year. It is possible. Trump just doesn’t care to do it.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ)
Even for centrist or right-leaning voters who might have skepticism about government spending programs, a large group would probably say we should be spending on things that would benefit Americans rather than some middle East war
Bharat Ramamurti, former deputy director, National Economic Council
Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
Psalm 41: 1-2