01-19-26

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 19, 2026
Prayer for the Week: 
There has always been 
There will always be 
  those who desire to maintain 
    a high level of anxiety--
      leaving us
           fretful, foreboding. 
There has always been 
There will always be 
  those who call themselves Christian 
    who preach an imminent end: 
    - the signs are real! 
    - the signs are present! 
    - the signs are now!
  They want us to know fear, 
    and not you, O Merciful One. 
  They want us to experience fear
    and not you, O Gentle One.
      The instrument of choice seeks 
        not peace, 
          but constant 
            uncertainty and apprehension.   
There has always been 
There will always be 
  an alternative voice 
  an alternative vision 
    from those who read the scriptures 
      and find mercy and gentleness.
 Those who see in Jesus 
   a new world already being birthed 
    through acts of mercy and kindness.
There has always been
There will always be 
  those who truly believe the words: 
    Perfect love casts out all fear. 
  Jesus believed it. 
    He lived it. 
      And so shall we…
        even against a backdrop
          of self-serving cruelty.
Amen.