Just a word before we go...First Sunday of Lent...March 6, 2022

The poet Al Rashid Kingshuk penned this poem at the end of February as the invasion of Ukraine was beginning.  His words resonate in our hearts as we watch the war unfolding far across the world from us, yet as near as our phones.  For those who lived through the Second World War, and for students of history, the parallels between Putin’s moves and those of Hitler are all too obvious.  The problem of evil has been studied by philosophers, theologians and  others through the millennia; a common conclusion is that it is very real.  Sometimes we recognize evil when we see it, although often it is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  But there is no mistaking the fact that we have all seen the face of evil these past weeks, and we have witnessed the death and destruction left in its wake.

Jesus recognized the face of evil when he encountered it in the desert, and was able to rebuke the tempter. Where did he get the strength to do so?  He was divine, of course, but he was also fully human, and subject to the same desires as we.  His source of strength can be seen as his bond with the Father; he went off to pray often, keeping the lines of communication open between them.  He trusted in his Father’s promises and love.

How can we maintain our resolve to live as Christians, to try to embody God’s vision for humanity, when we are faced with the tragedies that unfold before us?  How do the Ukrainians manage to be so steadfast in facing the evil that is befalling them?   

You see before the altar Kathryn Carrington’s icon of Mother Mary of Kyiv, to whom the Ukrainian people have a great devotion.  Last evening, at our first Taizé of this Lent, those gathered in the church and at home, invoked Mother Mary to intercede for peace in Ukraine.  With candles and meditative chants, with prayers and silence, we prayed for the Ukrainian people, from President Volodymyr Zelensky to the baby born in a subway tunnel; we prayed for a change of heart in Vladimir Putin and for the Russian people who are courageously protesting his war; we prayed for the dying and for recovery of the wounded.  And we prayed for ourselves that we might receive the grace to trust in God’s promises and love, as Jesus did, that we might be a source of hope for others.  It was a powerful evening; the atmosphere was charged with faith and prayers and the calm that comes from being on the same wavelength with God and others. 

And so we implore you, Jesus, through the intercession of Mother Mary of Kyiv...give us your peace; you are our hope.  We all have a friend in Kyiv.