by Roland Ashby
Traumatised by the brutal Russian destruction of life and homes, a Ukrainian woman cried out through her tears, “What sort of God would allow this to happen?”
In his book Night, Elie Wiesel tells the story of the death camp Auschwitz. In one passage, a young boy is hanged for not keeping one of the camp rules. As his body dangled from the rope, Wiesel was asked by someone, “Where is God now?” and a voice within him replied, “Where is he? He is here – he is here hanging on this gallows.”
The God who is Love weeps with us in our suffering. All God can do is love, said Brother Roger, the founder of Taizé. Through Jesus’ death on the cross God suffered the utmost extremity of pain, and showed us the greatest love the world has ever seen. This was a supreme act of solidarity with the millions across the ages, like the Ukrainian woman, who have experienced extreme suffering and a sense of abandonment and powerlessness.
But Easter is much more than a memorial of Christ’s death, and expression of solidarity, it is a celebration of the profound religious hope that love is stronger than death, fear and hate, and all the destructive forces at play in our world.
The world is going through a dark night. The images of war, death and violence we see daily on our screens are manifestations of evil which can scar the soul, and are potentially soul-destroying.
We must safeguard the soul through a daily gentle nurture in ourselves of all that is good, beautiful and true, all that is life-giving and a celebration of life.
Cartoonist, artist and author Michael Leunig describes the heart and mind as “a fragile ecology” and urges us to “resist the brutal invasion of the common soul”.
To this end he prays:
Dear God,
We give thanks for places of simplicity and peace. Let us find such a place within ourselves. We give thanks for places of refuge and beauty. Let us find such a place within ourselves. We give thanks for places of nature’s truth and freedom, of joy, inspiration and renewal, places where all creatures may find acceptance and belonging. Let us search for these places: in the world, in ourselves and in others. Let us restore them. Let us strengthen and protect them and let us create them.
May we mend this outer world according to the truth of our inner life and may our souls be shaped and nourished by nature’s eternal wisdom.
Amen.
(From ‘When I talk to you – a Cartoonist talks to God’)
The principal way I find such peace, joy, truth and freedom within is through meditation. It’s here that I get a powerful sense of the love of Christ, the love that is stronger than death, fear and hate, the love that transforms our darkness into light.
Roland leads two online groups in Christian meditation, on Tuesdays at 7.30pm and Wednesdays at 12 midday (Melbourne, Australia time). All are welcome. For more information see: https://www.thelivingwater.com.au/deepspringcentre or email editor@thelivingwater.com.au