“Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.†2 Corinthians 4:1
The news from around the world is tough. Just as we thought we would have a summer and fall free of worry over the pandemic, the Delta surge is upon us. All over the world, people are getting sick. Hospitals are overflowing, and people are dying. We are faced with the results of inequities that have existed for ages, as countries with greater resources have bought up so many doses of vaccines that some have had to be thrown away. And people without those resources, many of them United Methodists in Africa and Asia, are dying in increasing numbers. These disparities in access mean real lives being lost.
Then there is the chaos in Afghanistan, the heartbreaking images of people desperate to leave and so mortally afraid for their lives that they are throwing themselves at moving planes. There is the earthquake in Haiti--a coming storm that many fear will bring more devastation. And, there are fires and floods all over, as the ravages of climate change meet us in our present.
Lord have mercy upon all of us and upon this world.
In the face of such devastation and heartbreak, we cannot lose hope. As United Methodist Christians, we stand on the promises of the God who said,
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…and when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.†Isaiah 43: 2
Such passages do not provide warrant for Christian exceptionalism. We die and get sick just like everyone else. But our spirits should not be broken by the heartaches of life. God has called us to work on behalf of a world full of hurt. We must pray and do the work needed to relieve some of the suffering of this world because it is, according to Paul, “… by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry,†(Cor. 4:1).
PLEASE PRAY
Please keep in prayer all of those who are suffering with COVID, health care workers who are caring for them, for those without access to health care, and for the equitable distribution of vannines. Please keep children, parents and educators in prayer as they contemplate returning to school amidst a worsening pandemic. Please pray for the people of Afghanistan as they face an uncertain and terrifying future. Pray also for the people of Haiti, for succor in the midst of disaster. Pray for all of the suffering of this world. Most of all pray for our church, that we might continue to be the healing hands of Christ. Amen.