Disturb Us Lord
“ Disturb us Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery, where losing sight of land we shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes, and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.”
As we quickly approach the end of 2022, I find myself in a very thoughtful and reflective place. Like many others coming out of the lockdowns and restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year, I felt like we were slowly digging out of the mire of two emotionally and physically draining years. Could our desperate times finally be over?
Sadly, our hopes were dashed in February, when war broke out in Eastern Europe. Suddenly, the news was once again full of the dire warnings and threats surrounding us. Opinions and new reports once again became blurred, and decisions became increasingly difficult to make. Instead of a quick defeat, Ukraine held on and fought hard to push back their foe. War would drag on through the year.
But it’s not just Europe that is exposed to the threat of war and disruption. In recent months, our world has been witness to protests in Iran and China, gas shortages, high inflation, political threats, missile tests, and claims of continued nuclear development. In the United States and around the world, political divisions and hatred seem to be dividing our world in ways beyond my recollection.
It isn’t hard to see that we live in a messed-up world. Too often our desire is for comfortability, but I feel that more and more in recent years, our comfortable and complacent existence is being shattered by distressing events. The peace we long for cannot be found. We start to feel desperate. We need a hero. Who will save us?
As we enter into the Advent season, I am reminded of the story of the Jewish people languishing under Roman rule. They were tired. They too were desperate. Many were losing hope. Then in a crowded city, a tiny newborn cry pierced the air. Jesus was born. With that cry, all of history was disrupted. His arrival meant that the things of this life—the challenges, the wars, the threats, the politics—are not the end. He would overcome the chaos of this world.
In his life, he disrupted society. In his death, he disrupted death itself. The author of war, hate, threats, lies, and such, was defeated. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, he created an opportunity for humans to know and be in relationship with their Creator directly.
Over the last year, I have begun to hold onto this earthly life with less and less tenacity. I am so glad that this world, this uncertainty isn’t my forever. There are many though that don’t have that assurance. Whether in Ukraine or the USA or elsewhere across the globe, people live consumed with the distress of current events. That is why, as believers, we must continue proclaiming the hope, peace, and light that is found in Jesus Christ.
This Christmas, I pray that the God who came as a baby and disrupted the course of human existence, will also disrupt us from our complacency, from our comfortability, from our arrogance and pride, from our selfishness, from our fears, from our earthly attachments, and help us to focus on Him and his gift.
It seems clear that our world isn’t going back to the way it was, and it isn’t getting better. This may actually be a good thing. Let us endeavor to disrupt anything that hinders us loving better, sharing better, serving better, caring better, and going better. Because this world needs a Savior. This world has a Savior. His name is Jesus Christ.
