I am not a depressive kind of person, and neither do I see myself as a ‘glass half-full person’ but as a ‘it is only half-full, now what do we need to do to get it fuller’. The ‘restoration / New Church movement’ fitted that well – get the church right and the world will change; the ‘sowing seeds or revival’ phase (more on that in a later post) fitted it well for the united church in prayer will see the cities transformed. And now? My aspirations have not changed but we are in serious trouble globally.
I will (I hope) still keep kicking to my last day – and I will post on why Spain for Gayle and me… and what might be the next step at some point in these rambles – but if one really understood what we are facing globally I am not sure one could be as optimistic as I am. (I honour Anne who often comments on my posts who knows more about the state of play than anyone else I know but is still sowing into the future.)
2020 saw a major global scene – COVID. It was meant to call for us to wake up and realise there has to be a global reset. Did we wake up? I see the years running up to 2040 as ever so key. After that? Will there be an after that? Well one day I saw a MAJOR decline in the global population, and for sure we cannot continue for ever on this trajectory.
Global warming. Climate imbalance, the Mediterranean hotter than ever; the oceans more acidic than ever due to the CO2 levels. Migrations due to war, poverty, and famine. The rich ever richer (and economic oppression was aligned in the OT prophets with blood-shed that polluted the land)… Yes I do despair and my last prayers of the day are normally for Gaza (if we can hold the Palestinian situation and not excuse genocide under some Zionist theology we can hope to see a new economic situation arise) and for Ukraine. And did I mention that the whole banking system is sustained through ‘money is debt’ (at a simple level just for a minute work out how much money is in your local bank, how many employees, and then work out how that is sustainable!, then go the global scene and realise how much debt is held by the big economic cultures). The current economic situation is aligned to Moloch – sacrifice the future (the first-born) to get a harvest today; Scripture endorses ‘seedtime and harvest’. Sow now for the future (Bible); not raid (rape) the future for now (Western dominant economic system).
More than enough to depress. If one has a hope for some to come to faith; even if one has the hope that the more to faith the more might happen there is no need for any depression.
So what about donkos like me?
I believe, against all the odds that the cross was the open display of all hostile powers to the kingdom of God and that a new way was opened up. In my life-time – probably not, but when I pass from this life I would like to see the Lord with my eyes open and amidst the wonderful assessment of ‘Martin, all the big things you did were not so big’ that at least I can offer a defence of ‘I did all I did with a passion and a belief and hope of sowing into the future of your world’. Of course it might not help my case!!
I am deeply distressed that on my watch there are those dying in the Mediterranean; that injustices do not seem to be decreasing but increasing. I do wake up at night… but (maybe naively) think we can make a difference. Waking up but not depressed. The cross stood in the first century as a sign to Rome and still stands as a sign to all manifestations of Babylon in our day.
Hi Martin:
Thanks for the shout out. I sleep pretty well considering.
I ran across the term hopeful pessimism the other day. I think that kind of describes where I am at. I also heard about a recent interview by David Suzuki (one of the better known public environmentalists in Canada). He spoke of giving up on politics and trying to influence big things. That got folks upset. So he clarified that for him, he thinks our focus should be on the local.
I’ve been advocating this for a couple of years. I realized several years ago that all of our marches and protests and earth day celebrations had not achieved much. Certainly not enough to keep the temps down to where they should be for optimal life on this planet for us and the species that evolved with us.
What to do? I teach climate adaptation and so for me, the answer is to invest in a resilient future. And that is best done at the local level. While some of the major transformations coming our way have to be legislated at the national or provincial level, the true work of resilience is at the local level.
So I am pulling back from involvement at other levels to focus locally. I am training to be a Master Gardener so I can help with local food production and with creating beautiful spaces. We all need beauty. It provides essential rest for the soul. I am looking to see how I can support local businesses and get involved with people where I live.
We have a local university, where I am employed, and have helped create a new graduate program that is all about adapting to climate change. And despite being past retirement age, I will be teaching two courses this fall in that program. I will be technically ‘coordinating’. And the student numbers are tiny as it is the first year. But I get to influence several people about innovating for resilience. So off I go.
Yesterday, I found a local farm that does deliveries in the area. I immediately subscribed to a weekly veggie box. I’ll pass the things I can’t or don’t eat to my neighbours – gift economy.
Since we are surrounded by news about nasty people doing terrible things I log off of the computer by watching videos of people rescuing animals, giving them sanctuary, restoring them to health.
There are so many caring people out there. So many people investing in help others, including other species and the planet itself. Do we make a difference? We must. So I am pessimistic overall. The movement to get us off of fossil fuels has failed. It lost to big money and entrenched interests. But the ramping up of nastiness tells me we are having an effect. Now is the moment to invest in our neighbours, community and city. Make sure all are cared for. Welcome newcomers. Ensure each has what they need and can find a way to contribute. Step by step we build the new, transformed community for a new time. And that makes me hopeful.
PS: thanks for praying for the people of Gaza. That whole situation is beyond comprehension.