A Christian Perspective
A short blog this week. Too many words are being written and too much being said. We all need time for quiet reflection that we might seek the peace that only comes from God. As we search for ways to come together as a nation I offer these words for your consideration. We will find no peace or justice in this world when every conversation begins with condemnation and is preceded by a long list of injustices to race or ethnicity. We must learn to value people. How do we do that? You may find it hard to believe but the first thing we have to do is accept the premise that if our conversations begin with the usual notation of race or gender, we are confronted by what is and we need to move on to what can be. Where there is true peace we will find love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy. I have had a hard time this week finding the right words to express my feelings, finding my faith being tested and trying not to become discouraged. There are several of you from different parts of the world who stop by the Pew every now and then. I want you to know how much I appreciate the vastness of our faith community. I fear for my country and for her people, I see the freedom we have slowly slipping away and even more disturbing the evil that destroys the goodness of people through fear and intimidation. I share this with you because you and the faith communities within your countries have seen destruction and persecution and yet have prevailed in the faith. Please pray for the USA, its people and for our faith to prevail and continue to praise God as a nation of believers who serve the better good.
I shall pray this prayer every day and find strength and comfort in these words.
The Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
From The Pew 