Signs of Trouble

 

SIGNS OF TROUBLE

Jesus said to his disciples : « There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars ; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves ; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand. (Saint Luke, chapter 21)

Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times fo the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man ».

Recognise any of these signs ? Prophets have been sent to warn us. David Attenborough spoke at the climate change conference in Poland like a second John the Baptist announcing the second coming. And Greta Thunberg told off the world's leaders at the UN. But we have got so used to hearing and mocking the words, 'The end of the world is nigh', that we don't heed the warnings, because it's just a joke, isn't it ? But what if the men in the placards were right and it is 'nigh' ? Put the word habitable in the phrase, so that it reads – 'The end of the habitable world is nigh' - and suddenly it becomes more urgent ; suddenly we see the point. Or do we ? Most of us seem not to see beyond the end of our own noses. In the UK, BREXIT is considered more important than doing more to hold back the worst effects of climate change. And not only BREXIT, the economy is more important, ecconomic growth and a whole raft of other stuff. Only, actually they aren't. What does any of it matter if the earth can no longer support life ? It's all just an excuse to avoid facing up to the hard (and unpopular) decisions we all have to make so that not only our children and grandchildren have a world to live in, but us too. We are going to see catastrophic change in our own life times. Our leaders need to be braver. But we all need to change our priorities. We need to lift our heads, see the bigger picture and be prepared to make radical changes to our way of life.

I remember the day after the hurricane that hit France at the end of the millennium. We were dazed, shaken to the core. And yet, when we looked at the TV we saw that in the UK people were rushing to the sales and fighting one another to get this bit of stuff or that. As if it mattered ! In recent years there have been so many natural catastrophies, but, heads in the sand, we quickly forget each one and let it fade into the past. Before California went up in flames, there were wildfires in Greece and people had to run into the sea to save themselves. Last year Australia went up in flames. Then there were floods. And meanwhile, the ice is melting faster, faster, faster. The restless earth is erupting and quaking. But we don't want to wake up to what is happening. And our leaders want our votes, so what are they going to do ? As little as possible.

And what you may wonder has any of this to do with Christianity ? Everything! Jesus told us to love our neighbour as ourselves. But who is the other ? Is it just the kind neighbour who looks after our cats when we're away ? Of course not. It's everybody and everything on the face of the earth; and not only human beings but creatures of every kind. We need to love all creation as ourselves. We are all made of the same stardust. But we have been bad stewards of God's world, bad servants in his vineyard. The love in us needs to go beyond the end of our own noses if we are to see the bigger picture – to love everyone - all creation - as ourselves. 'All creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God' (St Paul's Letter to the Romans chapter 8) So, let us keep our lamps lit, pray for God's help and do our bit to save the planet before it's too late.