Turning our grief into a clarion call to action
A VIEW FROM THE BACK PEW
By Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt
THE ARTICLE had already been written, read and re-read for the October edition of the Huron Church News. It was a reflection on the emotional connection we have with the music that we hear as we move through the liturgical year and the seasonal messages which are so central to our shared worship. Then reality impacted on that wistful message.
I write these words after the news that yet more tragedy has invaded our world.
We are reminded too often of the way in which communities of faith become the targets of violence. This is not a new phenomenon. Individuals whose deaths we recall throughout the church calendar as martyrs were singled out in their day because of their zeal and commitment to our Lord. Some of them were people whose proclamation of their faith identified them as high-profile targets as they stood up against injustice. Speaking God’s Truth to worldly power can prove to be a very dangerous thing.
It is not difficult to find mixed into media reports of military activity in different parts of the world, those moments where places of worship or faith sponsored health care facilities have become targets. The Archbishop of Jerusalem and other religious leaders keep raising their voices in the cause of peace. Yet day after day, individuals of diverse faith communities share news of sorrow and loss. Their heartfelt mourning echoes Scriptural lamentation.
I suspect that between the time that I write these words at the end of August and the time that you read this article in October we will be hearing of more tragic moments and loss of life. I am writing at a time, when just hours ago, I learned of the event which took place in Minnesota, when a school community, gathered in prayer at the beginning of the academic year was the target of a shooter who was bent on death and destruction.
There is no viable way to grade the impact of different levels of loss. Families, communities or even nations experience a sense of grief whether a death of a single individual takes place on the battlefield or in a house of prayer. The tragic nature of violence is that too often there is senselessness to the deaths that are reported which, in turn, generates a feeling of helplessness and bewilderment.
The emotional turmoil which builds up within us as we become aware of the losses suffered through senseless violence in our world has an impact on each one of us as individuals. There is often a sense of bewilderment which becomes difficult to manage. Not being able to control the news we hear may lead us to simply avoid listening to media reports, not watching news on television or turning the page of a daily newspaper to avoid the painful reality which surrounds us.
Yet the world keeps turning. As people of faith, we are called to put our time, our talents and our energy into making a difference in the world in which we live. We are called to do what we can, so that through our words and deeds God’s Peace may become a reality in God’s World. Not letting the grief we feel ”overwhelm us and isolate us from others”, as we view our world in turmoil, but rather turning our grief into an emotion which motivates us to action.
We are at the focus of groups who set their financial needs before us asking for our generous support. As members of a community of faith, we are all prepared to offer our thoughts and prayers in support of those who are suffering. At moments when we feel stretched to the limits of our resources, both physical and spiritual, the act of grasping for some focus for personal action in offering some kind of relief seems so very natural. We feel compelled to DO something.
At those very moments which sound like a clarion call to action, as we face the temptation to rush off into all different kinds of directions, trying to solve every problem and challenge which is set before us, I suggest that, as people of faith, we have another option. Jump off the treadmill track which seems to be moving faster and faster under our feet. Come face to face with the power of stillness and silence. Recognize that it is moments of quiet, when we listen well, that we are enabled to be aware of God’s guidance.
I am not advocating a withdrawal from the turmoil of the world. Rather, I am suggesting that each of us takes time for a period of discernment, when we ask for Divine direction as to where our God given gifts may best be used.
Jesus commissioned his disciples to go out into all the world, proclaiming the Gospel and shining the Light of God’s Love in a darkened world. Each Apostle headed out in their own unique ministry emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They faced serious challenges, and their witness was not without cost. In our own day and age and in our own circumstance and context we are the inheritors of that mission and ministry.
Together, and as individuals, we can bring God’s Peace into God’s World.
Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt has retired from full-time parish ministry but continues to offer priestly ministry in the Diocese.
chrispratt@diohuron.org
Photo: WAFA (Q2915969) in contract with (APAimages)