January 22 Sunday Preview, from The Rev. Kaji Douša

I hear a refrain this week that won’t leave me:

The world is about to turn. 

Many exclaim this as we look, with real and valid trepidation on a brave, new world many of us did not know was coming. That fear could drive our choices and push us into despair.

Here’s my call: let us grieve. And then, let’s get moving.

The world is about to turn. This could be a cry of fear. Or we could realize that we have a faith and forebears in it that teaches us just what to do in such a time as this.

In 1990, Rory Cooney published a hymn called The Canticle of the Turning. The lyrics feel like an anthem for us in this new day (the second and third verse are below).

Though I am small, my God, my all, you
work great things in me,
And your mercy will last from the
depths of the past to the end of the age to be. Your
very name puts the proud to shame, and to
those who would for you yearn,
You will show your might, put the
strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the
fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the
dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn!

From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a
stone will be left on stone. Let the king beware for your
justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne. The
hungry poor shall weep no more, for the
food they can never earn; There are tables spread, ev’ry
mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the
fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the
dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn! 

Cooney’s powerful hymn is actually a reinterpretation of the prophet Mary, mother of Jesus’ words in the Magnificat. Jesus would turn the world, point it back to God in a new and profound way.

Now, our prayer is that God turns this world again. Come join us to sing, pray and prepare ourselves for what God has in store for us.

Pax Christi,
Kaji