One of the prevailing moods of our time is the fear that, somehow or other, things are falling apart in our world. We live, of course, in a time of unprecedented change. So much has changed in such a short span of time, and change is never easy to cope with. We think of the words of W.B. Yeats: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold…” There is a sense that the old world is crumbling, and no one is quite sure what will emerge in its place. At times we get the feeling that no one is in charge anymore, that confusion and disorder prevail.
And so it is important to keep things in perspective. The answer to the question, “Who is in charge of the world?” is the same today as it has always been: God is in charge of the world.
Yet people ask, “If God is in charge, why are all these terrible things happening?” And the list seems endless: violence in our streets, economic uncertainty, the loss of civility and courtesy, the rise of hatred, anger and division.
The simple answer is that these terrible things are happening not because God wills them, but because God has given human beings the freedom to choose. And when people make wrong choices, terrible things follow.
We have the capacity to bring untold hardship and misery upon one another. Yet we believe that God remains the ultimate authority over our world, and that the evil born of wrong, selfish, and immoral decisions will never triumph over the good, the right, and the true that God represents.
That is a great consolation.
It is a consolation on a global scale to know that evil will never ultimately triumph over good. It is a consolation within communities to know that the forces of division, conflict, and hatred will never finally overcome those who work for unity and peace. It is a consolation to know that your sins and mine will not have the final word, because God continually calls forth goodness within us to overcome our failures and limitations. And above all, it is a consolation to know that the God of love, mercy, and peace still holds this world, this community, and each one of our lives in the cradle of His hands.
Things go wrong in the world, and in our own lives, because of the choices we make—when we turn away from peace and friendship toward conflict and resentment; when we use our freedom not to choose what is good and true, but what is selfish, harmful, and false.
The God we believe in is a God of authority—a God who spoke in the person of Jesus Christ, and who still speaks to us century after century, year after year, need after need, through the Church He founded. God still speaks to the world, to this community, and to each one of us. He is a God of authority, yes—but also a God who calls us not to fear, but to trust.
And what our world becomes, what this community becomes, what you and I become, depends upon whether we hear the voice of God calling to us—and how we choose to respond