Whenever you step outside, always pay attention to what direction the wind is blowing!
Air currents are never just static. They are vibrant. They move. And they challenge how we will move at the moment.
In this society, we are trying to survive in a windstorm. We are being challenged from too many directions all at once. People are suffering tension trying to understand what values are being challenged, trashed or being newly planted.
Be understanding at what the people of our society are trying to deal with at this time. There are too many challenges to their social values coming at them Some are coping well; many are very frustrated and confused. Be patient with those who are having a hard time walking into the winds of social change.
They are bombarded by warnings of global warming. If humanity does not change its consumption of fossil fuels, the future life of the planet could diminish drastically. There is a lot of guilt in these warnings. ‘We’ are the cause of the diminishment of the environment. But then there is the fear and reluctance to make the necessary changes in our lifestyle. Climate change is a double-edged point of tension for today’s citizen.
Then there is the walking away from community involvement and commitment to the common good of each other. The past three generations have been walking away from church, from all service organizations, from voting in civic elections and from marriage and family commitments. It all centers on the individual. We feel the disintegration of our society by this turn to rugged individualism.
People are bothered by the acceptance of same-sex marriages and the recognition of the gay reality in our high schools. People may not say too much in public conversations, but they are having difficulty adjusting.
People are speaking up on the issues of racism, sexism, First Nations issues and violence against women. Each issue touches something deep within us and can prove to be very disturbing.
When you view the news this evening, you have doubts that our political leaders are actually working towards the best interests of the citizens. Too often, political leadership appears to be a battle to gain power. What does the little guy at the bottom of the civic totem pole receive? Is the political process stacked against the ‘little guy?’
Return to our roots in our faith experience. This is not the first time that life was so topsy-turvey.
We are at the point where Moses was with the freed Hebrew slaves (our foundation story). They were free from the oppression of their Egyptian masters. But they were fearful and resisted trusting that God would protect them as they moved into the desert. Their freedom came at a very exhausting price. It was only through many trials and struggles that they could trust that God would be their protector.
This is where we are now. So much of the social grounding that makes us feel secure is shaking.
Our only security is the hand of God who will accompany us into our future.
This is where we must listen and try to understand the pain, confusion and frustration of one another. And at the same time, we need to seek the hand of God. Where is God leading us through all this wind storm?
Bravely, we seek the very help of God to get us through this time of trial and confusion. We seek to direction of God in these very confusing times.
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