As It Was In The Days Of Noah

 

(painting by Quaker artist Edward Hicks)

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them.  

Jesus, Luke 17:26-29 (NRSV)

 

Reading these ominous words of Jesus remind me of the near total indifference I see on the part of most of us North Americans to today's signs of apocalyptic disasters.

We've come to believe that what millions of others on the planet suffer on a daily basis could never, ever affect us, or threaten our own future security or wellbeing.

Here are some headlines in just one day's paper (Daily News Record 4/21/22) that most of us find ourselves largely unaffected by, allowing us to carry on with business as usual.

Russia Tightens The Noose in Mariupol

With global tensions running high, Russia reported the first successful test of a new type of intercontinental missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin boasted it can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia "think twice..."

US Pentagon Chief speaks For The First Time To Chinese Counterpart

The long-strained U.S.-China relationship may have reached a new low with the Russian invasion. At times, Beijing has sought to distance itself from the conflict but avoided directly criticizing Moscow. At other moments, Beijing's actions have been provocative...

Ukraine War Refugees Top 5 Million As Assault Intensifies

After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her family's home in the Ukraine, Viktoriya Savyichkina made a daring escape from the besieged city of Mariupol with her 9- and 14-year-old daughters. Their dwelling for now is a huge convention center in Poland's capitol...

Climate Change, Big Agriculture Combine To threaten Insects

Insect pollinators are responsible for about one-third of the human diet, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And 2 out of the 5 invertebrate pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are on the path toward extinction, a 2016 United Nations science report said.

In light of this kind of information to which we are exposed every day, am I advocating wringing our hands in despair or becoming immobilized with fear? Absolutely not.

But the alternative is not to ignore all of the warning signs of a future in which the four horses of the Apocalypse may yet wreak inevitable havoc. 

Rather, we can focus on actions like the following:

1. We can and must pray together for God's will and God's ways to prevail everywhere on earth, beginning with God radically changing our own ways of thinking and living.

2. We can aim at limiting our consumption of the world's resources by half.

3. We can double up on our giving and on sharing with others in our community and around the world.

4. We can use our influence to urge people everywhere to turn from self-centered living and to follow Christ's example of joyful self denial and self giving for our neighbors' sake, for our own sakes and for God's sake.