Confidence in the midst of crisis: A theological reflection
A friend of mine wants to get rid of his TV set. The reason: every time he watches the news, he gets depressed. Stories such as the European debt crisis, the status of the European monetary system, unemployment rates with ensuing immigration challenges, increasing medical costs and another paedophile or corruption story permeate the airwaves causing many to feel anxious and uncertain.
One of the challenges with the globalized world is the assault of information through computers, televisions, cell phones and perhaps media that we are not even aware of now but will surely be "vital" to our lives by year's end.
Isolating ourselves from this information is not the answer. We must look for the answers by understanding the underlying causes which include, among other things, a basic human characteristic of greed resulting in excessive consumption, pride and entitlement. There is hope but I believe it is not found in traditional areas where political and economic leaders search.
The solution demands not just a brilliant idea or a rich and well-organized country that treat the symptoms of problems without addressing the underlying causes, but a person. It is in the darkest moments that the presence of the followers of Jesus can encourage a society which has lost hope.
“The fact that He called us to follow him in Europe today means that it is perhaps for such a time as this we are here and now”
Believers may feel overwhelmed by the speed and complexity of these challenges, which for many form the predominate concerns of today's world. The good news for us and those around us is we do not need to stare into the face of the crisis and the abyss of despair, but rather into the face of the One who repeatedly said to those around him, “Do not be afraid”. The fact that He called us to follow him in Europe today means that it is perhaps for such a time as this we are here and now.
We are neither immune to the problems around us, nor are we in possession of the answer to the issues. Perhaps we feel the tension similar to the one the first disciples felt as Jesus was about to depart. But he deliberately left them in the situation giving them the tools to manage. At the very end of Matthew’s Gospel, the end of the Great Commission passage, Jesus tells the disciples: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The gift of Jesus’ presence to the disciples then, as well as to us now, and continuing until the end of time, is a sufficient guarantee that someone has complete control over the affairs of the world, including an unstable Europe. It is He, the great I AM, who promised to accompany the helpless and the hopeless. But as for the first disciples so also for us the challenge remains the same: “go”.
Dr. Andrzej Turkanik, Director, Quo Vadis Institute, Schloss Mittersill, Austria