Being a Watchman
God offers so much; we are born to live for such a short while. We cannot allow our neighbors to live in ruins. They are in pain because of our turning away from what we are too ashamed to see. We know we are wrong when we feast at the table and others go hungry. It is not enough to just open food kitchens. Our neighbors need these kitchens because we close the door to their prosperity.
We have the strength to lift them from poverty, keeping them healthy, and giving them well-paying employment. Yet we keep them from this because we do not want to give others a place at the table. We fear that what God produces in His abundant fields will not be enough; therefore, we hoard.
We forget that when others suffer needlessly, we also feel their pain; we just turn from it in embarrassment or fear. We forget that we are on earth to serve, not to hoard. We cannot love unless we allow God’s light to shine upon all. We celebrate the birth of Jesus every year, but we forget that He was born into poverty and lived His entire life in poverty. Yet He rose to great heights, inviting us to come with Him and walk in God’s light.
His lessons are of truth, eternal abundance, love, peace, and community through our sharing the Eucharist. All He asks is for us to open our hearts, listen . . . to understand our lives, the lives of others and how that without God, we are all weak. If we walk the lighted path shown to us by Jesus, our journey will lead to wonder.
In a world suffering with war and pandemic, we can rise above the turmoil by listening to God with our open hearts to receive true wisdom and love. We cannot heal others of their problems unless we ourselves are healed. This occurs only through God’s love and grace.
When we arm ourselves with God’s Love and Grace, we can rise above all earthly cares and not be slaves to the evils of war and pandemics. For your sake and mine, we must not be silent and turn our eyes from the hardships of life that are created by our fears. It is time to free our self-imposed shackles and live the lives that only God can provide.
© Russell Kendall Carter
Meditating to Heal 