THIS WAS ANOTHER DIFFICULT WEEK

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

These words were read in my church for the Third Sunday in Advent.  Sitting in the pew, I wondered how we could possibly give thanks for the past week, for any of the recent weeks really.  

This was the week the Israeli soldiers killed three men held hostage by Hamas; they came out shirtless, defenseless, waving a white flag.  The soldiers--trigger happy and disregarding the rules of war--shot them dead.  Unbelievable anguish is an Israeli response.  Questioning the devaluing of unarmed civilian life is an additional world response.  

This was the week that we learned further details of the bestiality of Hamas' rape of Jewish women.  This was the week that the deaths of Gazans reached 20,000, 70% of whom are women and children. This was the week that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine went home empty-handed after meeting with Congress seeking aid to repel Russian aggressors. This was the week . . . well, I could go on and so could you.  

And this doesn't touch our personal griefs and challenges.  Worries about children, parents, jobs, health.  Some of us are up against the wall and overwhelmed. Some of us are in hospice. For some, bad news follows bad news.  Rejoice always. Really? 

But looking closer, yes, I can pray without ceasing.  These are the times we do pray without ceasing.  The more need, the more prayer.  The more grief, the more prayer.  The more helplessness, the more prayer.  

And looking again more closely, we are told to give thanks in all circumstances.  Not for the evil in the world, no, never for that.  But in the face of evil, we are thankful that we are not alone.  That the Lord is with us. That His is the power and the glory.  That God will always help, save, comfort and defend us. 

God's plan is not for us to suffer, to die untimely, to be taken hostage.  We give thanks in spite of evil.  

What comes to mind is the hymn "When peace like a river."  Horatio Spafford wrote it in 1873 after his four daughters drowned crossing the Atlantic.  The first stanza ends, "Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know / It is well, it is well, with my soul."  If the will of God in Christ Jesus for us is to "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances," this path is not so unrealistic as it first seems.  If we follow it, with God's help, I believe that with the hymnist we will say, "It is well, it is well, with my soul."    Thanks be to God.  AMEN