The Great Exposer

A simple virus has swept the globe, shutting down our world in ways nothing and no one has ever done. The Great Exposer is its name, a pandemic that has lain bare the frailty and helplessness of humanity, brought to light the brokenness of our world and unveiled the depravity of the human heart. Economic disparity, insufficient health care system, exploitation of workers, corruption in leadership, injustice, inequality, oppression, racism - all have been put on display in greater intensity and transparency. The resulting fear and stress unleashed violence in the homes and on the street and revealed our inner turmoil and mental instability. It unmasked heinous selfishness, self-entitlement, insatiable greed and appalling disregard for human life.

A nightmare that we all desperately long to wake from.

This can't be real life, can it? The world seems to be collapsing or burning up - but in truth we are finally seeing it all as it really is. Some of us are waking up to the true reality of the world we have lived in all along. The Great Exposer has opened our eyes, what we see it is grotesque and terrifying. For some people, this nightmarish existence is the only life they have ever known.

My heart aches with the heaviness of the turmoil, violence and grief I see all around me - the rise in child abuse and domestic abuse, the multitudes without homes and going hungry, the stories of suicides of men and women who could not fight another day, the constant toll of death that this virus takes every moment, and the horrific acts of racism that continue day after day.

Come Lord Jesus! We need you. We need your light to chase the darkness away. We need your peace to saturate and still anxious hearts, cast out fear, and put an end to hostility. We need your love to uproot and replace selfishness and hate. We need your healing balm to mend divisions in our land and save us from disease and death. We need you to reign and rule in justice and righteousness. We need you to be a refuge for the oppressed, and a stronghold in times of trouble (Psalm 9:9). We need you to strengthen us and empower us - your Church - to do good, seek justice and defend the oppressed (Isaiah 1:17) with boldness in action. We need you, Jesus.

To my friends in the black community who have been living this nightmare your entire lives:

I see you
I hear you
I believe you
I weep with you
I stand with you
I'll kneel with you
I'll speak out for you
I am outraged with you
I pray for you, cry out for you
I long for justice and equality for you
I long for peace and a life without fear for you
My heart breaks for you
You matter

You are created in the image of a Holy God and therefore you are my brother and my sister in Christ.I will use what voice and presence and privilege I have to work toward peace, to fight against oppression, to break down walls of hostility and divisions, and to seek healing for our land - for that is the ministry and work of Jesus.