ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 27, 2022
You might have heard or read about them, but no matter how you received them, the words of Pope Francis during his Christmas Day Homily might have been the clearest expression of truth the world has heard in recent years. He spoke about the war in Ukraine as “a grave famine of peace,” while also suggesting this famine of peace reaches into many other parts of our world.
Famines can be caused by human stupidity and/or unexpected natural happenings. In today’s world, famine does not have to be lasting. We have the capacity to feed those in need anywhere in the world, assuming there is no human interference. The food exists. The logistics exist, assuming… I have no idea what was in the mind of the Pope when he wrote those words, but I wonder if he understood famine as I just described. If so, then to have a “famine of peace” is to suggest we have the capacity to solve it, assuming there is no human interference. It sort of feels as if the path to peace is continually blocked or rerouted by those who really do not want peace or by those whose agenda is self-serving to the extent of ignoring the pain of others. My takeaway from the Pope is to believe peace is not only possible, but something for which we currently have the capacity.
Help me to believe, O Good and Gracious God, even when so much of the narrative assumes it to be impossible. Help me to believe. Amen.
