Is anyone else tired of living through historic moments? It’s kind of like the feeling of that third hurricane evacuation after such a long spell without one. Not long ago, it was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Lately it’s been living through a pandemic like we haven’t dealt with in a century. Or an attack on a western-style democratic nation for the first time in over seventy-five years. There have been others, too. We have front row seats to some things that will undoubtedly end up in history books for a long time to come.
On one hand, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. To indicate such events that “haven’t happened since…” is just part of history itself. World history, and even our national history is quite long. To pretend that momentous things won’t happen anymore is a bit silly. Pointing some of this out is as strange as the comments made by sports announcers when they pull out a random statistic to be able to say something like, “Well, Bob, no one has hit the third pitch in the fifth inning after missing the second pitch in the second inning since Ramirez did it two years ago!” Sometimes I roll my eyes at such stats because we can get quite absurd in our attempt to make meaning out of what is happening right now.
That is not to diminish what we’re living through. We have found ourselves in the midst of large-scale history-making lately. Such events are hard to fully understand or appreciate because of our proximity. They typically come with anxiety and worry, too. Change is always stressful; disruptive change is even more so. The challenging part is knowing where we are on the arc of any particular timeline or event. Remember February 2020? We knew there was a new virus, but no one had any indication of what would come in the next few weeks, let alone the next two years. We won’t fully understand “what happened” and its effects for generations.
The concern about what is happening in Ukraine is not just worry over the Ukrainian people, or the continued decline of western democracy – that’s plenty though. One cannot help but wonder what this portends for the future. Is this like the early days of the pandemic, when we were aware that something was amiss, but weren’t sure what it would mean over the long term? In fifty years, will children be taught that some world-changing cycle of events was triggered by Vladimir Putin’s recklessness? Every minute that passes is history; some carry more meaning than others.
That meaning is not entirely up to us. History is not static, as we well know by now. Those who come after us will determine meaning, argue over meaning, and dismiss meaning regardless of what we think, feel, or want. Meaning matters, though. One of the most frustrating aspects of the human condition is making meaning out of our lives and the things going on around us. We don’t need to become full-time philosophers, who find meaning in every little moment, nor should we go through life ignoring what happens in the world if it doesn’t seem to affect us personally. We walk a road of meaning somewhere down the middle of those two extremes.
In terms of Ukraine, meaning comes through identifying with the people affected; soldiers on both sides, civilians on both sides, politicians on both sides, all those who are impacted by this war. Where do we encounter Christ? He’s going to be found inside the cockpit of a Russian jet, just as much as he is with those sheltering in subways. Jesus is alongside the mother whose son is deployed to the front lines and the man whose wife was killed when the hospital she works in was bombed. Discovering, and remembering to look for Christ in our broken world is where we find and make meaning. What is Jesus saying to us when we meet him? What is he calling us to do?
History will be what it is, but for us, it’s our life, here and now. Today’s news is tomorrow’s history. News is good and bad, just, and unjust. In and through it all, God reigns in heaven, entrusting us with the work of the Gospel, spreading the message of hope and reconciliation, especially when the days are dark. I haven’t had to pray this hard since…maybe I need to pray this hard more often.
Tom+
God of the nations, whose sovereign rule brings justice and peace, have mercy on our broken and divided world. Shed abroad your peace in the hearts of all and banish from them the Spirit that makes for war, that all races and peoples may learn to live as members of one family and in obedience to your law, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Photo Credits: Ukrainian Flag, Fedir Shulenok, Dreamstime.com subscription. Congregational Photo from Christ Church, Kiev, via Anglican Communion website.