I wonder what a year acceptable to God would look like. For my part, I imagine a lasting truce between Russia and Ukraine, with all the invaded territory returned to Ukraine. I imagine the Palestinians being able to live in their own land free from bullying and ethnic cleansing. I envision Sudan and South Sudan finding a way to live in peace with their Muslim and Christian, African and Arab,
pastoralist and agriculturalist, oil-rich and oil-poor differences set aside. I dream of a world where violent dictators, drug barons, megalomaniacs, corrupt and nasty politicians are safely behind bars, unable to cause more chaos and disturbance. I picture people supporting themselves and their families without endangering their lives. I think of an educated country where each person has a meaningful and fulfilling job. I hope for a time when everybody has the food they need, produced in a way
that does not damage the natural environment. I look forward to a healthcare system that works for everybody, not just those who can afford it.
I’m sure my dreams for this acceptable state of things are not too different from God’s. But God doesn’t measure time in terms of how long it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun. God is a lot more patient than we are. In God’s good time, the invasions of one country by another,
the persecutions and the xenophobia, the violence and oppression, the hunger and thirst, and maybe even the ecological calamities will come to an end. The acceptable year for God may be a long way away from our timescale. Indeed, we might not even see this peaceful turn of events in our lifetime. And if we expect politicians to bring about a more reconciled world, we might be waiting a long time.
It is more critical for us to engage
with the issues of our day and do our very best to be peacemakers in our time and place, where we have influence. Let us be part of this acceptable time of the Lord.
Reflections by Fr Peter Knox
SJ
