Uneasy times: God will calm fears, grief, pain

	Word to Life  Dan Luby

Hunger? Thirst? The oppressive power of these dogged and ruthless scourges of humankind is unknown to most of us living in the post-industrial world of the United States or other prosperous countries.

Sure, we might occasionally miss a meal or two; even, in extraordinary circumstances, go to bed hungry. We may once in a while get really thirsty, stuck in a hot place with no ready supply of safe water.

But the gnawing, life-threatening hunger that is the daily bread of millions the world over? The tongue-thickening, mind-numbing thirst that haunts the days and nights of huge populations in underdeveloped regions? Most of us have no concept.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Sunday, April 29, 2007) Acts 13:14, 43-52 Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5 Revelation 7:9, 14b-17 John 10:27-30

So, in Sunday's reading from Revelation, when we hear feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty as images of salvation, we cannot perhaps understand them as profoundly as those who live less sheltered lives.

But there is another image here which speaks to all of us, even if we've never ached with deep hunger or never been driven to despair by lasting thirst.

Because everyone understands tears. Everyone, even if only as a child, has cried - from frustration and abandonment, from anger and grief, from pain and loneliness, and fear.

No one lives very long in this world without suffering defeats, small and great. We all know disappointment, betrayal, isolation, loss. Friendships can fail, marriages can fracture, families and nations and communities of faith can tear themselves apart.

	Reflection questions • Who has helped wipe away the tears from your eyes? • How can you express your gratitude? • Who do you know who is suffering? What's one specific way you can offer consolation?

Dreams and relationships and loved ones die. And whether our tears flow easily and often, or stay pooled within our broken hearts, we all weep.

That's why, when the Scriptures tell us that in the great cosmic victory of Christ, of which his resurrection is the first taste and the absolute guarantee, "God will wipe away every tear from our eyes," it is good news in which we can all rejoice.

This column is offered in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.