Thoughts on Boston

From the EYouthWNY Facebook page:

"It's easy to react with anger and revulsion at what has happened in Boston. At the moment we don't know what has happened. Our best response at the moment is be calm and wait. Prayer would be useful.

But there is one other thing I want to remind everyone. IF this was done by a person they represent the smallest portion of humanity. We are surrounded by people who are basically decent peaceful people. WE are the majority. Let us not cut off our noses to spite our faces. We are called to meet anger with love."

It seems like the world spins ever more out of balance every day.  The media shows us more and more insanity until we believe that we may be the only sane people left in the world.  I think there's a couple very important points to be made.

The media makes it seem worse than it is.  I'm not saying that it's a conspiracy but rather that because they focus on the bad it seems like that's all there is.  That perception of the world is wrong.  The vast majority of us will go through the day without a bomb going off in our vicinity.  Most of us will go through an average day with nothing more than annoyances to disturb the calm of our passage.  Some times we want to pretend those annoyances are more than they are but that's on us not the world.  When all seems madness look around and see what's really going on.  Or more likely NOT going on.

And then be calm.

The other point for us to remember is that our belief and tradition tells us that God is with us.  We are also taught that we are to be God's hands in the world that the world might be changed.  Our call then in times like these is to respond not in anger but with love.  To be calm, to be helpful, to be soothing, to be gentle in a world that desperately needs all of that.

Wait.  Watch.  Find the truth and then do what you can do to heal the world.

Peace
Jay Phillippi
Youth Missioner