He is risen! He is risen indeed! And yet….

Death rains and reigns.
Evil dances.
Lies cry out.
And still He waits.

Your time is perfect,
Your grace severe,
Your patience intolerable

As children die
Women raped
Men slaughtered

A bike lies fallen
Bodies draped with sheets
Cars become tombs

How many more will die
Before one more is saved for eternity?

And where are Your people?
Who will cry out “PEACE! STOP!”?
Who will sacrifice for war to end?
When will the world arise?

Are we so terrified of the killing machines we ourselves have created that we will allow thousands more to die, to be raped, maimed, orphaned, before we will say with our lives, “ENOUGH!”?

And what of my own hypocrisy?

Yes, I care more for the thousands in Ukraine
than the thousands in Syria.

Forgive me, Gracious Father.

Aleppo broke your heart as much as Mariupol.
Or more, for its forgottenness in the world.

Let my heart break for
the widows
the orphans
the immigrants and refugees
the poor
wherever they are
whatever their skin or homeland or language or faith

Rise again, LORD Jesus
On this Easter morning.
Won’t you rise and bring death to its end

Judge the world
Strike down the brute
In the palace or the tent … or my own heart

LORD Sabaoth, LORD of Hosts
Bring an end to the reign of terror
Let the generals rise up against their commander
Let the privates lay down their arms
Let the officers and the sergeants end the atrocities

Reveal yourself as God of justice and wrath
…and grace

Rise again, my Lord and my God.