A Place We Call Home

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:15-18

When I look around, when I take a good look at the world, I often end up being depressed and driven to hopelessness. There are so many reasons to be sad at the sorry state of the world. We have never seen so much wealth and affluence in the history of men; but there are still billions of people living in hunger and poverty. We have such a beautiful and bountiful paradise to live in; but we keep on thrashing it, not realizing it is the only planet we have. Life is such a precious gift; but we keep on hurting and even killing one another.

For billions of years, the earth developed and unfolded pretty much on its own. From a blob of molten mishmash from the sun, it slowly moved evolved into the habitable place that we have today. When men appeared on the scene, things even got better, with each new generation living a little bit better that the previous one. Men have harnessed the bounty of the earth to feed, clothe and shelter themselves. We have captured and immortalized the beauty of the earth through the arts we have invented. Things have only gotten better.

And so I am moved to proclaim the Good News. In the face of all the hunger and poverty, due to all the greed and selfishness there is in the world; there is the Good News of Love. Men can go out and beyond themselves to care for and serve others. In the face of all the killing and the violence, due to all the anger, hatred and thirst for power; there is the Good News of Forgiveness. When we forgive, we can begin again to build this earth into an even more beautiful and lovely paradise.