When Jesus speaks to his disciples about what is to come in history, and explains to them that this is a reason to have hope, it can be hard to find comfort in what he’s describing. At first hearing, it sounds like a cataclysm is coming which will bring destruction and turmoil. But what he’s describing are the birth pangs of a healed and restored Creation.
The Biblical stories insist that God is active in history and that there’s a purposefulness to the events that unfold. For people who see injustice and long for a new order, this is the primary reason to have hope.
And the bison have returned to the plains of Montana and Canada. Native Americans and Canadian return to owning and managing their lands.
This generation marched – every color- for Black Lives Matter. Not simply black and a few white as in the 50’s and 60’s. Our generation raised those who March for equality today.
I have enormous hope. I know we become better with the centuries that pass. My mother was pulled out of school because ‘good farm girls didn’t need an education’; my sister and I have college degrees and began the movement of women into these male spheres.
The church opens its doors to people it did not in the past. We are curious, creative, imaginative people. We will solve these issues generation by generation with God’s strength and direction and, I hope, humor. I believe we are all his tools.