Broken

In church today, we heard the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones - and we heard the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

These stories make me think about what is dead or broken in our world - and what needs breath, new life. Our world is upside down:

• The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer; most of our leaders seem to be bought by corporations. Our world is being run by self-interest rather than love and care for our neighbor. Some believe that if we don't tax the wealthy some of that money will trickle down to those in need. But, that's not the case. Why do so many of us believe this anyway?
• I think of what we have done to our oceans in the past year alone. The explosion of the oil rig sent millions if not billions of gallons of oil into the ocean, killing off wildlife. Who knows what the effects of all the radioactive waste that has been dumped into the ocean off the coast of Japan will do to creatures that depend on the ocean for life. Our greed and refusal to change our lifestyles is affecting the way we treat our planet.
• We are driven by our fears and anxieties which leads us to distrust those who we perceive as being different from us. So, there are some who fabricate stories about our president and his place of birth. There are some have rifles pointed at immigrants trying to make their way into this country.

In an earlier blog I stated that I have hope because I "know how it will all end." In the end, all things will be made whole. I believe that with my whole heart. In the meantime - with one foot in this earthly kingdom and one foot in God's kingdom - it's difficult  to be patient sometimes. It feels as though we are on a large, fast moving ship heading for an abyss.

Can we turn the ship around somehow?

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications....I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope." (From Psalm 130)