People of Hope:
A question we have probably all heard and said ourselves and felt deeply in our bones is: What do we do in this broken world?
These days, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates, as mass shootings continue across the nation, as children turn to self-harm, as many other injustices and suffering and tragedy ensue, what do we do in this broken world?
There is so much good already happening in the world. There really is. Someone somewhere is working on the very thing we cry about and pray about and wonder about today. And probably not just one person somewhere but many people in many places. We are some of those people, too.
Perhaps in our daily work or through our parenting or grandparenting or through the ministry we do at Esperanza or through our volunteering in the community or even through the intentionality of building healthy relationships, we get to steward a portion of the mission God is on in this broken world. If we have the energy to do one more thing, we do not have to reinvent any wheel. We can simply join someone else who has given their attention to a particular aspect of God’s mission in the world. We can help them be even more effective in that work, whether it is local, national, or global.
The question What do we do in this broken world? is actually not as confounding as it may seem at first glance. We know what we can do. We can write notes of affirmation for the kids of Esperanza Elementary School. We can donate non-perishable food to the Kyrene Family Resource Center. We can go to work each day and contribute our skills to the common good. We can support and listen to the people in our lives and show up for them when they need us. We can sign up for action alerts with the ELCA Advocacy Office and Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Arizona (LAMA) and call or write our legislators when an important piece of legislation is going through Congress or the state legislature. We can come to worship on Sunday mornings and be filled with hope and grounded in faith and love — so that we can live with and pass on faith, hope, and love each day.
There are lots of things we can do in this broken world, and friends, most of us here, we are already doing them. Keep loving. Keep forgiving. Keep showing up. Keep shining. God is on a mission in this world, and we have already been recruited for the team.
With hope,
Pastor Sarah