CRISTO
NEGRO – BLACK JESUS
Robert
Trabold
Old
year – New Year
I sit here – feel presence
of Black Jesus.
Feel old year
wonder about new one.
Jesus is black
color touches me
mystery – mystery of
our world.
Was a tough old year
endless wars – violence.
When will it end?
never ending!
I bring these wars – violence
to Black Jesus
Can help me
with this darkness.
Jesus’ life was one
of darkness
constant tensions
despite His good intentions.
Statue of Jesus on the cross
is black – copy of one
in a famous Guatemalan shrine.
What does the black say to me?
Jesus in life had no
easy answers. His world
laid on Him – heavy
many problems – few answers.
Let me keep my eyes on the
black Jesus. I have
to walk in mystery – few
answers in life – world.
Let me not be overwhelmed
with it all. Someday
an Easter Sunday will come
for us all – like it did for
Jesus.
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MASTER AND WORKERS
Robert Trabold
As we close one year and begin a new
one, we wonder where the world is going. At times we feel depressed because
despite our good efforts and those of others, the world does not seem to be
better. It can be depressing as we look at the television and the newspapers
where we read and see so much violence and hatred and war in the world. It
seems to be never ending. There are many good people on earth who have the best
of intentions and participate in many good projects. But their effect seems to
be negligent in so far as the upheavals we see around us do not diminish. We
notice that our government in Washington and others around the world do not
accomplish what they could do in order to foster more peace and justice in the
world. Political figures make many promises but do not live up to them. So we are left with the sense of insecurity
and disappointment as we look to the future and wonder what it holds for us and
younger people.
It may be good for us to step back
and try to envision a larger picture of where all is going. The work of making the world a better place
is God’s project and in a very real sense it is beyond us. We do not direct how
the world will go and in our lifetime, we accomplish a tiny part in this
effort. Whatever we do and say which may be very good, is never complete
because the building of God’s kingdom is always beyond us and our good work is
just a small contribution to the final end. We can continually pray, do many
good deeds, help many people, work in many good movements such as the peace
movement, the ones to eradicate poverty, etc. All of our efforts in these endeavors
are never complete nor accomplish what we would want them to do. There is still a lot to be done and the
problems of the world and its injustices continue to plague us.
We have to realize that this is our
lot on earth. With our good intentions
and deeds, we are planting seeds which one day will grow and bear fruit. We
have to continue to plant seeds and water them with our consistency in doing
good deeds and realize that it is in the future that we will see the fruits of
our efforts and those of other good people. In one sense, we lay the foundation
that as time passes needs further development and work. We are in a bakery
where we use yeast which later will produce the finished bread.
If we cultivate this sense that we
cannot do everything and that the recreation of our world is God’s work, a
burden is lifted from our shoulders. Let us not try to do the impossible. We
have to be sincere in our efforts to lead a good life and make a contribution
to the creation of a better world. We need to preserver in doing something and
try our best but have to keep in mind that our efforts are incomplete. We are
making our contribution to lay the foundation but it is God’s job to build the
complete house. We may never see the complete house but be persevering in
making our small contribution during our years on earth. The recreation of the
world more in the image of the justice and peace that Jesus preached is God’s
work and our small and incomplete efforts are steps along the way. Ultimately
God’s grace has to come in to complete the work.
Let us remember that God is the
master builder and we are the workers. During our life, we are to make our
small contribution. We most probably will not see the end work. We are building a future which is not our own
but belongs to Jesus and God the Father. If we can cultivate this perspective,
it takes a load off our human shoulders.
We feel better, have things in perspective and realize that we are
building a new world which is not our own but are called to make a contribution
to its realization. We may get depressed with the world’s injustices and
violence but need to continue to make our efforts to the building of God’s
project and kingdom of how things should be.
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