There’s a song I know that is also sung as a prayer to God, the prayer refrain being Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy). In our current day, the words speak to the state of our world, therefore, they are so important for us, the Church of Jesus Christ here on earth, to take note of and act upon to make our world a better, more loving and caring place for all. Below is one verse of the song;
Look around you! Can’t you see? Times are troubled, people grieve. See the violence, feel the heartache. All My people weep with Me! Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy), kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison . . .
If you are a person of prayer, if you listen to local and world news, or read the newspaper, or are just involved and care about our world; its people, our neighbors, our environment, then, you can’t help but know in the deepest part of your soul that our worldis weeping and broken! It needs fixing and people need mending!Then, the firstquestion becomes: What can we do? Second,what can I do? The answer is to notice, to feel the pain, to pray daily for our world for peace and healing, for people to know God and for God’s love to prevail in people’s hearts and lives.
Fortunately as followers and disciples of Jesus Christ who believe in Him and the promises of God, we have the hope of a totally different world. God’s promise of a whole new world is revealed in these words from the Old Testament book of Isaiah 11:6-9;
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all My holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
As Christian’s, we have a choice everyday. Will we participate in changing the world for Jesus Christ by actively bringing about the kingdom of God through prayers for our world and its needs, by modeling our lives on Jesus Christ, by challenging injustice, caring for other’s, sharing our worldly goods and telling others about God in Jesus? Or, will we live a safe and comfortable Christianity forgetting the price our Lord Jesus paid on the cross for the sins of the whole world but also for its redemption. “For God so loved the world that He gave . . .” (John 3:16) May our lives reflect this costly price!
Dear Family of God at St. Thomas,