Deb reflects on where she sees hope as 2021 begins to draw to a close. Faith and science can work hand in hand when faith gives us hope, wisdom, and compassion and science gives us the tools to act.
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As a high school science teacher this line really reverberated with me:
“. . . [S]cience can’t heal our larger societal problems. Science can’t reduce anger, forgive sins, build mutual respect, or fill us with compassion for others. Science can’t fill us with hope. Our world is in desperate need of all these things, but science can’t deliver. The good news is that Christ can.”
Science is amazing and most definitely limited. Agricultural chemists certainly have fixed some large problems and we have medicine and vaccines but in the end science can’t do it all and many important things are missing if people adopt a science only approach. Science grounded in faith would be nice! Faith should absolutely push us towards science. To study God’s world and use that knowledge for the betterment of all God’s children.
“Because of Christ’s resurrection, our sins are forgiven and death has been conquered.”
Probably nitpicking but how are sins forgiven because of Christ’s resurrection? Or is it that the resurrections moves us in the direction? Or was “death and resurrection” meant?
This also was very moving to me:
“Our hope is about more than a distant future. God’s response to human suffering was to come in the person of Christ and walk with us in our humanity. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, and took the worst of our suffering on himself on the cross. Christ then calls us to follow him, to imitate him. So, like him, we come alongside the suffering, work against poverty, share the good news of the kingdom, and sacrifice ourselves for others. It isn’t easy. When I see the increasing vitriol and falsehoods of our polarized divides, I am tempted to despair and to think my actions won’t matter. Then I remember that I am not called to solve this world’s problems, I am called to imitate Christ. And so I take hope and again work to love and respect my neighbors, even when I think they’ve got it wrong or they lash out at me.”
Its so easy to despair because we can’t fix all the broken stuff. Facebook made me do that. I deleted about 75% of my “friends” and have a very restricted community after the election and covid stuff. I’m abouit a half-year of not watching news either. It was eating at me and all the misinformation was making me despair. I’m not supposed to fix everything or all the broken stuff (I couldn’t even fix myself!). We aren’t supposed to. We are supposed to imitate Christ, do what we can and trust in God. A very timely and relevant message for me.
And I went on a journey clicking that troll farm link. It explains a lot though.
This was a very hopeful and refreshing read. Thank you.
Vinnie
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Well-spoken, Sister Deb.
This was an article that was incredibly encouraging to me. As someone who frequently despairs due to the multifaceted manifestation of our social problems, I really needed the reminder that Christ is our hope.
I gave up Facebook in 2017. I just…couldn’t do it anymore. I left just in time.
I’m far too guilty far too often in thinking that it’s my job to fix all this stuff…
The article is right, and so are you. We are supposed to imitate Christ. He’s the Restorer. Not us.
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Right on. Christians have a sure hope, not just an empty, unfounded optimism. And it’s not here, but it allows us to, and strengthens us for, work here without despair.
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Since Jesus we have needed no excuse not to act.
love all the comments posted it shows we can work together if we follow the instructions God gave to each and everyone of the 12 tribes , as i reflect upon my day christ does forgive those who have sinned against him as does his father who is wonderful and kind growing up as a child of god i can say my parents made mistakes but you have to rember the song everyone makes mistakes oh yes they do their sister and their brother and their dad and mother to big people small people matter a fact all people everyone makes mistakes so why can’t you he loves each and everyone one no matter what the current issues and events are he does not expect us to hide who we are as we were made in his creation and image as what has both been written and spoken he shined a light upon this world and it was his creation we are not to judge our neighbour show love to one another was this not the laws i belive wholehartly they were you many reading thios so not know me nor do they know my story they do not know my journey for it is mine to tell and mine alone
I think everyone no matter what their origin or beliefs are religious or otherwise have hope if they didn’t do you think that god would want this much division ? amongst his creation we all have our own interperations of what was written and why those oral teachings were not included is a mystery to me perhaps if they were included and actually listened to than we would all come together as one united we also have different interperations orally how we hear things how our brain works to remember things how we view things but these are our stories to tell when you create babble you get bable for every action their is an opposite reaction i am not to sure if any of my living brothers and sisters can recall what jesus said in the beginning which is not written down anywhere for mankind or likewise to hear because it was also said and staed only those with eyes want to hear only those with a mouth want to speak and only those with ears want to listen and society is testing us but one thing they can not test is oral teachings just a thought to open up peoples minds
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