Pray for Peace

On life's journey from the womb to the tomb,

A place of deep shadow without a glimmer

Of the light of awareness and reason,

A man should hope and pray for peace, even

To the last clod of earth thrown upon his grave.

God exacts from us less than guilt deserves

When you stretch out your hand to Him in life,

You will be forgiven and will not know fear.

You will have contempt for worldly misfortune,

Feeling secure in the knowledge that there is hope

And life beyond the grave will be brighter than noonday,

And the shadows will be like the morning sunrise.

Those who don't believe in God will remain unblessed.

They will grope around in darkness without the light

Their remedy against misfortune...to breathe their last.

Don't drain the swamp. Clean out the barn.

In the Gospel of Mark (Mark 5:1-20), Jesus goes across the lake to the "country of the Gerasenes", that is to say, the territory of the city-state of Gerasa. There, a man "possessed by a demon" comes from the caves to meet him. People had tried to tie him down but he was too strong to be tied, even with chains for he would always break out of them. Day and night among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. Jesus approached him and called the demon to come out of the man, who replied "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you in the name of God never to torment me!" Jesus asked the demon for his name and is told "My name is Legion, for we are many." The demons begged Jesus not to send them away, but instead they asked Him to send them into the pigs on a nearby hillside, which he did. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. The possessed man was restored to sanity.

Now, the men tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and and the people went out to see what had happened. No doubt these people were not Jews because Jews under the Mosaic law do not eat pork and so these pigs were being raised for other people, perhaps for sale to the Roman soldiers or for export to other places. In any case, When the Savior released the young man from the evil spirits and permitted them to enter into the pigs and the pigs all died by drowning, the local people ordered Our Lord to go away. He was bad for business. The spirit of capitalism made them feel that rescuing a poor soul from the demons, was not worth the loss of their precious pigs.

Why is it that pigs and capitalism are so related? We talk about "bringing home the bacon" as if it were money. Mothers tell their children, "Don't be greedy like a pig." On Wall Street they say "pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered." In George Orwell's novel "Animal Farm" the pigs were the smartest animals and they ended up representing all of the other farm animals against the farmers. When the animals peeked into the window of the farmhouse where the negotiations were proceeding, they looked around the table and had difficulty discerning which were the men and which were the pigs.

Our television screen is our modern equivalent of the window to the negotiating table and we still have trouble differentiating the men from the pigs. I think instead of draining the swamp we need to clean out the barn.

Where does one find rest?

In the fuzzy orange glow of a new dawn fear strikes the land.

The damp air is heavy and smells of fear and uncertainty.

The sound of shouting and quarreling is heard on all sides.

In whom can the people trust if they no longer trust in God?

Do they trust in Science? But how does one pray to Science?

Where are the altars of Science and Technology located?

Is the Devil nothing more than a malicious Russian hacker?

Don't Science and Technology die when you Control-Alt-Delete?

God is not dead. He is the Resurrection and Life Eternal.

I shall go with God. I invite you to come along with me.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand by the roads, and look, 

And ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; 

Walk in it, and find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)

.