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Archived 05/02: A Message From the Pastor
Rev. Alice Ann Bonham
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It certainly seems as though we are as far away from this peaceful image as Isaiah was when he first received it. The levels of violence, anger and hatred have increased so much in recent weeks that it's hard for us to imagine. The daily news reports and the pictures on the nightly news only compound our anguish and disbelief. We've become so overwhelmed that we're at a loss on how to respond. |
During times of great turmoil and
stress these words from Isaiah have brought comfort to many
people. They create an image of hope and peace for us to hold
onto. The painter, Edward Hicks, painted a series of paintings
based on these verses. Each painting is a different composition
of the animals and child(ren). He used the images to help create
a sense of peace during turbulent times. We may not be gifted painters like Edward Hicks, but we can use these words to help create a sense of peace in our lives. As we hold on to these words and remember that we are still in the Easter Season, a Season that celebrates Christ's victory over sin and death, we know that God will ultimately prevail and peace will reign. As the lyrics from one of our Easter hymns proclaim, "The strife is o'er, the battled done, the victory of life is won; the son of triumph has begun: Alelluia!" |
Christ has surely won the battle
over anger and hatred, sin and death. While we wait for His
reign to come upon the earth, there is still much for us to do.
Because we believe that Christ has won the battle, we need to
proclaim that truth. We need to continue to care for the widows,
the orphans, the strangers and those who are in need. We need to
continue to pray for those who hate us and hate others. We must
be very careful not to return hate for hate and anger for anger.
All that does is create an ever widening circle of
violence. There surely will come a day when &quopt;The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.... and the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.&quopt; Until that time we will continue to proclaim the truth of the Gospel and pray for Christ's peace to be with us. I commend to your love and care the peoples of the world. Pray for them and us.
Pastor Alice Ann
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