CHALLENGE AND HOPE

Restore our fortunes, Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126:4-6 – NIV

The return of the exiles to their homeland was a like dream that came true. The end of their captivity was like a new birth. It was a great conquest and an occasion to celebrate with laughter and songs.

But the reality they encountered was the opposite of their dream. There was not much left of their homeland. Everything had changed. They found devastation and a world to be rebuilt. The song turned into supplication. They asked God's blessing for the new seeding, knowing it would involve sacrifice and suffering. Their hope was that their efforts would be like the rains that would fill dry beds of rivers.

We all start out life as winners. Our very conception was a great achievement. It was the result of the union of an ovum and a sperm. The competition was fierce. The ovum was only one of hundreds (or thousands) of ova produced by the mother and the sperm was one among billions produced by the father. The union of that sperm with that ovum which produced each of us was a great victory for both the ovum and the sperm. At our birth many challenges lay before us – standing, walking, running, learning a language, making friends, enjoying pleasures, experiencing the world and establishing an identity. With the gifts of life plus our own efforts we got where we are today. We have much to be thankful for and to celebrate.

But today we face a world slipping into chaos, dominated by a military-industrial complex that is gaining power by promoting greed, hostility and violence with the use of ignorance, politics and religion to divide and conquer. The great majority of the world population is being victimized in benefit of an ever shrinking but privileged few. Terrorism, both secular and ideological, is becoming the norm. Patriotic and religious violence is glorified. Hindus and Sikhs murder Muslims. Muslims kill Christians. Christians exterminate Muslims. Protestants reject Catholics etc. The “Unholy” land of Palestine is paralyzed with religious hostilities and is far from being a hope for the world, contrary to Zionist propaganda. Climatic change is being denied for the reason that facing up to it will reduce the profits of those who are devastating the environment.

Christianity makes great claims as to who Jesus is, but conveniently ignores what Jesus did and taught. Putting into practice Jesus’ lifestyle and teachings would make Christianity a radical departure from our present set of values. It would take us in the direction of a world of peace and justice. But the Christian majority is strangely silent before what is happening in the world and has adapted the “shoot back” philosophy of paganism. I recently saw a church bulletin manifestation of this spirit of violence, describing Jesus as "the great warrior" coming to "penetrate the hearts with the sword of the Word" and "destroy the wicked." I was saddened by the insensitivity of those who wrote and published the article.

We need to sow peace. In today's world, it is very difficult to be a sower of peace. Intolerant fundamentalism promotes prejudice and rejection. Embracing the brother or sister who doesn’t happen to fit into what some think is “right” is out of the question. Sowing peace involves suffering and tears. Jesus, by living peace, wept over Jerusalem. He never took up arms. He said that those who use the sword will be killed by the sword (Mt.26.52). He opted for the cross as the path to true peace (salvation). Christianity has opted to defend itself by the sword and avoid giving itself on a cross. It has adapted security over sacrifice as a way of life.

Do Christians really believe in the power of love? Do they really believe that God is able to use the seeds of self-giving as a way to the sprouting of new life? Do they really believe that beyond the cross there is a resurrection and that tears can be transformed into songs of joy?

THIS IS OUR CHALLENGE AND OUR HOPE.

PSALM 126 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

    we were like those who dreamed.

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

    our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

    “The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,

    and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, Lord,

    like streams in the Negev.

Those who sow with tears

    will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

    carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

    carrying sheaves with them.