The events of our world can be troubling – leading to fear, anxiety and panic. In this episode of the Things above podcast, James Bryan Smith asks, “Is our world governed by fear? Is our fate decided by a roll of the dice?” The short answer is no – because we live in the strong and unshakable kingdom of God. Jesuit priest Luis Espinal wrote a mediation that helps us grapple with the events of our world and the hope we have through Jesus.

Meditation by Luis Espinal

There are Christians
Who have hysterical reactions
As if the world had slipped out of God’s hands.
They are violent
As if they were risking everything.

But we believe in history.
The world is not a roll of the dice
On its way toward chaos.
A new world has begun to happen
Since Christ has risen?

Jesus Christ,
We rejoice in your definitive triumph
With our bodies still in the breach,
Our souls in tension;
We cry our first “Hurrah!”
Till eternity unfolds itself.

Your sorrow now has passed.
Your enemies have failed.
You are the definitive smile for humankind.
What matter the wait now for us?
We accept the struggle and the death,
Because you, our love, will not die!

We march behind you on the road to the future.
You are with us. You are our immortality!

Take away the sadness from our faces;
We are not in a game of chance?
You have the last word!

Beyond the crushing of our bones,
Now has begun the eternal “Alleluia!”
From the thousands of openings
In our wounded bodies and souls,
There now arises a triumphal song!

So teach us to give voice
To your new life throughout the world,
Because you dry the tears of the oppressed forever?
And death will disappear.

What troubles are you facing? Can you hear the alleluia beyond the wounds of this life? This world is not a roll of the dice. A new world has begun since Christ is risen. And God has the last word.

Related episodes:
1. Conversation with Josh Larsen
2. Seeing Beauty
3. Forgiveness: The Way to Freedom
4. Christ is All Around Us
5. Desiring God

The post The Last Word appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Gerald F. Goodwin, "Race in the Crucible of War: African American Servicemen and the War in Vietnam" (U Massachusetts Press, 2023)