Loading more...
What Does God Sound Like?
An Excerpt from Speak, My Soul If we are to hear our own soul speak, we Read More
Shortly after submitting this meditation, I reread Zechariah 9:9-10. I was surprised and pleased to find that verse 10 confirms the point I was trying to make. It speaks of the coming king as one who will destroy the machinery of war and “command peace to the nations.” One whose “dominion shall be from sea to sea… to the ends of the earth.” (NRSV)
We have yet to see this prophecy completely fulfilled, so long as there is war and oppression in any place on earth. My heart grieves when I hear about war and suffering in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, and so many other places where powerful people and nations seek to dominate others. Greed for resources like farmland and oil is causing the suffering of millions of people as well as damaging the environment, God’s good creation.
It is good that those of us who call ourselves Christians respond to crisis situations with humanitarian aid. But if we truly consider ourselves followers of Jesus, the Messiah and Prince of Peace, we must look at our own lives and see how our attitudes and lifestyles contribute to conflict, injustice, and war. Harboring resentment, for example, can lead to difficult relationships with those around us, even those we love most. Driving fossil fuel-powered vehicles without restraint and traveling by plane adds to the demand for petroleum that is the cause of so much environmental degradation, climate change, and wars. The list goes on.
Let us ask God to help us be open to see how our ways of being contribute to conflict instead of peace. Then let us ask for God’s love and light to fill us and give us strength to make the necessary changes. With humility and God’s help, we can participate in the liberating work of the Prince of Peace to bring true justice, equality, and peace throughout the world. God’s reign of love begins within each of us.
If you doubt that your small efforts will make a difference, just remember the lowly donkeys that have been God’s instruments for good. Enjoy this hymn that Sister Alegría and I wrote about them. It can be sung to the tune of “Count Your Blessings,” by Edwin O. Excell. The sheet music with guitar chords (in both English and the original Spanish) can be found at the links below.
God Used a Donkey
By Las Amigas del Señor
Chorus: Any willing creature God will use
if it’s ready and does not refuse.
Lord I pray that I be willing too,
like the humble donkey that said “Yes” to you.
1. Balaam’s donkey stopped and stood still in the road
when to it appeared an angel of the lord.
Balaam, he got angry and he raised his rod,
so the donkey spoke to him the Word of God.
2. On the way to Bethlehem a donkey mild
went with Joseph and Mary, who was with child.
Then the donkey lent his manger as a bed
where Jesus, the infant God, could lay his head.
3. Jesus went, obeying the voice from above,
to Jerusalem to give his life with love,
carried by a donkey was — oh! — so proud
when it heard the shouts of “Glory!” from the crowd.