This year Canada has been devastated by the worst wildfires on record.
It is all too easy to fall into despair at the state of our world. Global warming, war, greed and inequality all pose a serious threat to the future of humanity and the future of the planet.
The following two responses, written in the style of Psalms of Lament, of which there are many examples in the Bible, cry out to God in sorrow, grief and anger, while also clinging to the hope that the God of Love, infinite source of a love that is stronger than death, will not desert us in this hour of need.
A Climate Change Lament,
by Steve Bradbury*
(Loosely based on Psalm 10)
Why, O Lord, do you stand aside when the world is burning?
Why are you missing in action when the most terrifying of deadlines looms closer every day?
In arrogance we plunder the earth and dismiss its agony, living in denial of the love with which you created all things. The poor who have done so little to cause the planet’s pain are already suffering.
The wicked rich, whose greed can never be satisfied, do what they want to do, unchecked, believing they are accountable to no one for their deeds, least of all you. In their arrogance they are convinced you either don’t care or don’t exist.
They glory in fake news, converting truth to lies, while all the time pompously increasing their wealth and power.
Cocooned in the air-conditioned comfort of their golden towers, luxury yachts, gated communities, believing themselves secure in their vast investments, they ignore the rising suffering in the communities of the poor. The grief of African farmers fleeing parched lands and withered crops, and Asian slum dwellers losing the little they have to the rising waters of monstrous rains, means nothing to them.
They remain unmoved. Careless of the lives and wellbeing of your poor, they continue in their ways, plotting the on-going growth of their bank balances.
Is it any surprise, O God, that the victims of an increasingly hostile and cruel climate believe themselves to be God forsaken? Isn’t it time, O Lord, for you to step in and save us from ourselves?
Even though our eyes and ears tell us otherwise, we believe that you do see the earth’s groaning and feel its grief.
We believe, we choose to believe, that no bird drops from a heat-seared skywithout you noticing - or a koala engulfed in flame, or a child lying listlessly at her mother’s empty breast.
Loving God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, rescue your poor and all your creatures from this time of trial and bring them justice. Breathe new life into the forests and oceans. Restore your creation. Remember your rainbow promise.
A Lament for our time,
by Roland Ashby*
Dear God of love and all that is life-giving;
eternal source of infinite mercy;
wellspring of all goodness;
my soul thirsts for you,
as a drought-plagued land thirsts for soaking rain.
My soul cries out,
and my heart breaks in anguish,
as your enemies revel in their victory: those purveyors of death and destruction, suffering and misery mock you in a myriad ways:
Through the catastrophic fires and floods of global warming, which also steals from our children and grandchildren – and all living things – their futures;
Through the mindless brutality, pain and bloodshed of war;
Through the insatiable lust for money and power which afflicts some, and which condemns many others to poverty and stunted potential;
And through the ruthless regimes which savagely persecute and oppress, torture and murder.
So come, Holy Spirit, come!
Heal your broken world!
And deliver us from the evils of genocide and ecocide.
Oh Creator, sustainer and redeemer, make haste
to purge us, renew us and make us whole.
Scatter the foul stench of fear and hate with the sweet fragrance of your love,
and cleanse us of our sin.
Oh God of Compassion and Justice,
Whose love reaches the furthest star and penetrates every atom,
let not your enemies triumph over you!
Enkindle the fire of your love in every heart,
wake us from the sleep of complacency and indifference,
in which we pursue pleasure and ease at others’ expense,
and stir us to act fearlessly for the well-being of all.
Oh God of steadfast and unfailing love, do not desert us in this hour of need.
*Steve Bradbury was the National Director of Tearfund Australia 1984-2009. He chaired the international Board of Micah Global from 1999-2009 and the international Board of Micah Challenge in 2003-4 and 2008-2012. After leaving Tearfund he designed Eastern College Australia’s Master of Transformational Development (MTD) and served as the MTD Programme Director until early 2021, widening the programme to include students in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He continues to provide voluntary support to MTD students and faculty.
* Roland Ashby is the Contributing Editor of Living Water: See: (www.thelivingwater.com.au)
and Co-Director of the Deep Spring Centre for Contemplation and Action.
See: https://www.deepspringcontemplationcentre.net/