Come & See-Humanity's Cry (2)

June 10, 2019

 Scripture

 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept. (John 11:32-35 NIV))

 “Come & See” – Humanity’s Cry (2)

 Last week I referred to Mary and the mourners crying, “Come and see where we have buried my brother”. This past week we have had one profound and powerful cry to “come and see” from The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

 It is a tough read and designed to be so. There is a deep wound in our social fabric and despite our defensiveness it is important to go and see what the report points to. This past week I have laboured through it trying to connect with their sorrow the way Jesus connected to Mary’s.

 We can argue about the use of the term genocide in the report but after also reading the Truth and Reconciliation report a couple of years ago, I have become slower to judge and more open to let self-definition be part of the power of inquiry. The report’s title “Reclaiming Power and Place”, expresses this longing

Compassionate understanding and respectful engagement with ideas which we question is a good form of prayer. Decades of families ask “Where is my daughter?”

 A Prayer

Loving God, sometimes the wounds of history can seem beyond both understanding and resolution. Help me to do my best to understand the pain of the survivors and listen beneath the noise of the clamouring media voices. Grant me your love and compassion to serve the pain that causes you to weep..… For Jesus’ sake