with Rev Dr Chris Walker
What will 2017 bring?
The New Year’s celebrations saw millions of people around the world seeing the New Year in with major fireworks displays in places as diverse as Sydney, Manila, Singapore, London and New York. In Sydney 1 ½ million people found places around the foreshores of Sydney harbour to witness the fireworks displays. We greet each other with a ‘Happy New Year’ hoping that indeed it will be a positive year. It did not begin so in Turkey with a gunman randomly killing 39 people in a nightclub in Istanbul before escaping.
I was interested to review 2016 and note the following. There were a number of terrible terrorist incidents. These included an ISIS attack at the airport and subway station in Brussels, Belgium which killed 30 and injured 270. A suicide car bomb in Bagdad, Iraq killed 292 and wounded over 200. Again ISIS claimed responsibility. A truck ploughed into crowds in Nice, France on Bastille Day killing 85 and injuring 300. A bomb in Pakistan killed 61 and wounded 117. Twin bombings in Istanbul, Turkey killed 44 mostly police officers and wounded 155. A bomb exploded in Cairo’s main Coptic Church killing 25 people and injuring many more. A tractor trailer ran over people in a Christmas market in Berlin killing 12 and injuring 48. The person had ISIS allegiance. Boko Haram in Nigeria after negotiations did release 21 of the 200 school girls captured two years ago. North Korea continued its provocative approach by detonating nuclear warheads.
There were some significant trials such as in the Ivory Coast where a former President and a politician were convicted of crimes against humanity. Similarly in the Congo a former Vice President was convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes. There was a no confidence vote against the Tunisian Prime Minister. South Korean lawmakers impeached the President over a corruption scandal. An International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published a massive leak of documents dubbed the ‘Panama Papers’ connected to a Panama Law Firm which helped establish secret shell companies and off shore accounts for global power players.
There were some natural disasters such as the earthquake in Ecuador which killed 663, the earthquake in central Italy which killed 290, and a hurricane which hit Haiti killing over 500 people in this already devastated poor country.
We did have the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which went well despite the concern over the Zika virus and whether the necessary infrastructure would be ready in time. The star performer again was Usain Bolt who won the 100, 200 and relay gold medal for the third time. Later Brazilians were saddened when a plane crash in Columbia killed more than 70 including members of a soccer team.
There were some very significant political developments. The UK voted to withdraw from the European Union. This led to the resignation of the Prime Minister and Teresa May becoming the second female Prime Minister. In London, Sadiq Khan was elected mayor becoming the first Muslim mayor of any major Western city. There was an attempted coup in Turkey which was strongly put down. Donald Trump was elected to become the next President of the United States of America.
The war in Syria continued with nearly 6 million refugees as a result. The situation is complex with the President’s forces backed by Russia, the rebel forces, Kurdish separatists, the US and others including Australia, and of course ISIS. It is hard to see how a lasting and just peace can be achieved. Iraqi forces have sought to reclaim Mosul which has been an ISIS stronghold. While not currently in the news, the situation in Israel and Palestine goes on with hostility and no progress towards the needed two state solution. The UN Security Council has called on Israel to cease all settlement activities in occupied Palestinian territory. A person I know has gone to be an ecumenical accompanier as part of the World Council of Churches program to try to protect and be in solidarity with Palestinian people.
We hope for peace and well-being in this New Year but in many places this seems a long way off. It will require people to treat others with dignity and respect and for the social values of justice and compassion to become more of a reality. As a Christian I believe we need to be open to God for God alone can enable us to move towards the kind of future we really need. The reality of evil and violence is very evident. It is newsworthy and graphic. The good that people can also do is mostly less likely to make the news as it is more subtle.
Pope Francis has put out a statement for the World Day of Peace highlighting the need to reject violence and practice active non-violence as the way to defeat evil. He begins his statement offering heartfelt wishes of peace to the world’s peoples, leaders, and every man, woman and child. He prays that the image of God in each person will enable us to acknowledge one another. He says, “Especially in situations of conflict, let us respect this, our ‘deepest dignity’, and make active nonviolence our way of life.” I affirm this. Pope Francis points out that today, sadly, we find ourselves in a situation he calls ‘piecemeal’ violence, of different kinds and levels which causes great suffering. This includes “wars in different countries and continents; terrorism, organised crime and unforseen acts of violence; the abuses suffered by migrants and victims of human trafficking; and the devastation of the environment.” He rightly says that violence is not the way to cure our broken world. Countering violence with violence leads to forced migration and enormous suffering. Vast amounts of resources are diverted to military ends and away from being used to meet human need. He says that Jesus offers a radically positive approach based on love. To be true followers of Jesus today includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence. He points to the contribution of Mother Teresa , who he proclaimed a saint, and others such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Leymah Gbowee and the Liberian women who organised pray-ins and nonviolent protests that led to the end of the civil war in Liberia. He repeated what he said earlier “The name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace alone is holy. Peace alone is holy, not war!” He concludes his statement calling on people in 2017 to become nonviolent people and to build nonviolent communities that care for our common home. That is my prayer also.
Chris Walker
(National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship)
chrisw@nat.uca.org.au
http://revdrchriswalker.wordpress.com/
Chris is currently serving the Assembly of the Uniting Church as the National Consultant for Theology and Discipleship.
He has served in a range of positions and places in the Uniting Church including local church ministry in three congregations in NSW, as a regional education and mission officer, and consultant for evangelism and discipleship, in Queensland, as principal of Parkin-Wesley College in SA, and as a mission resource officer for Parramatta-Nepean Presbytery.
He has a passion for theology, mission and discipleship. His interest in writing has resulted in various publications including five books, most recently Peace Like A Diamond: facets of peace (Spectrum, 2009) and Living Life to the Full: Spirituality for today’s baby boomers (Openbook, 2005).