These Days!

ACTS IN 90 DAYS

A reading for Monday, June 1, 2020: Acts 7:54-8:1.

"But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul."

What are we to say about these days we are living through? I am always astounded by the ability of scripture to offer us a window of perspective about the days and times in which we live. We open our Bibles today, with the television and internet full of images of a senseless killing and a riot, to find the very same in the book of Acts.

I have so many questions, but here's just a few:

-Why do human beings always wish to destroy those that are different? Do we assume that because we think we are right, then we can do whatever we want to someone else?

-How do leaders and those that follow them justify more violence and anger as the answer to violence and anger? Didn't Jesus tell us to seek a different way?

-How do men and women, like Stephen and others like him, find the courage of their faith to forgive those that come for them? Isn't this the narrow way of Jesus, the only way to justice and peace?

I don't pretend to know how to fix all the chaos and pain I see all around me. I do know how to pray, with grief and sorrow, but also with hope in my heart. I am grateful to follow Jesus who always calls me to be a better man than I believe I am capable of. Thanks be to God!