In a world in which death always seems to have the upper hand, it s hard to hold fast to the faith that the God who gives life will triumph. In a world in which people are broken and divided, in which hatred and animosity and indifference seem to be insurmountable, it s hard to say the wolf will lie down with the lamb. God s will for God s creation will someday somehow in God s own good time be fulfilled. The trees of the rainforest fall. Children fend for themselves on the streets.
Teenagers kill for the thrill of it.
All around us there are signs of addiction to wealth, addiction to power, and at the same time, signs of incredible poverty of spirit. Here is my greatest fear. My greatest fear is that the church is in danger of believing that the problems we face are greater than the power of God, that we re afraid to speak a word of hope and promise because of the ridicule that would be heaped upon us by those who know how things really are. Perhaps our prophet encountered people who were astute and sophisticated and rightly overwhelmed by the reality of their situation. We can get used to almost anything.