bishop's perspective:
Let’s get a grip on reality
It is early morning. The moon hangs gracefully in the open sky. The stars sparkle in the gray-black dawning. It is serene. Peaceful. Calm. All is well.
Or, is it? The media reports the war is raging in Iraq. Nothing serene, peaceful or calm there.
This is precisely where we live out our lives: between chaos and cosmos, disorder and order, despair and hope, the dysfunctional and the healthy. How we live out that tension defines our faith.
Jesus was always the clear-eyed realist. He recognized his rejection. He heard the harsh judgment made against him. He understood the demons of oppression and selfishness. But he lived out of a hope in God's future. That hopefulness didn't alter the reality but did give him purposefulness and focus.
As Christians, we are not people of simple, sentimental, humanistic optimism. We don't live in denial about our own faithlessness or that of our churches. We don't assume "all is well" because we manage to keep our church doors open. We don't dare believe "all is well" just because we enjoy the fellowship within our cozy groups while our communities and world goes to hell.
As congregations we are called to wakefulness – to a consciousness of our situation. Are we making disciples? Are we sending out followers of Christ to reflect the faith in homes, offices and voting booths? Are we making a difference in our communities? Are we giving our people the stories, language, and traditions of our faith? What is our response as Christians to violence and needless deaths because of greed and war?
We never easily arrive at the conclusion that "all is well." It has to do with more than full moons and glorious sunsets. It has to do with more than good fellowship or growing membership in our churches.
It has to do with coming to grips with realities about our lives, churches, communities and world. Then we must dare to trust God with our future – dare to partner with God in creating cosmos out of chaos. It is then that we can look out on a war-ravaged day and say with authenticity, "All is well," because the world is ultimately in God's hands.
Now, that is faith. And it is a faith that must be practiced!
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