The Church Universal
World Communion Sunday often focuses on unity at God’s table, a vision of the beloved community. In a different tone, today’s texts invite an unblinking look at the calamities and upheavals affecting brothers and sisters nearby and far away: war, conquest, displacement, economic crisis, grinding poverty, even natural disaster. Faith calls us to see and testify that these exist and that their causes are often human. These days, even at funerals, it is hard to lament. We would rather jump from celebration to celebration than face the reality of our lives and the lives of those around us. Lament is truth telling, is prophetic, and can be a healing agent. To lament and to grieve with the afflicted can prompt the spirit of courage to act, even if only with a mustard seed of faith. So what breaks God’s heart? And what breaks yours?