Peace in 2025
Recent events have shown us the fragility of life. We are called to cherish life and yet it breaks my heart to see the apparent cheapness of life in parts of our world. But as Christians it is our calling to care for wounded lives and to restore dignity to the lives of everyone because we need to remember that everyone is made in the image of God and therefore has inherent value to him.
And recognising that fact is the basis for building a culture of peace. The World Day of Peace was January 1st and it seems apt that this should occur on the first day of the year. In his address for this day Pope Francis called on all nations to eliminate the death penalty, to divert a fixed percentage of arms spending to a global fund to fight hunger and climate change, to cancel the international debt of developing nations and to respect human life. A big ask but if you don’t ask then what is the alternative?
There are still 55 countries that have the death penalty although 23 have not used it in the last 10 years. However, research shows that it is not a deterrent and of course, opinion is very divided on whether or not it is a suitable punishment.
However, on the World Day of Peace it is still worth noting that considerably more people who have committed no crime, die because of the sins of others. We should make it our goal in 2025 to continue to pray for peace and that fighting will cease on every front and there will be a desire for peace and reconciliation through dialogue and negotiations.
And then, not only to divert the spending from arms to helping the poor and tackling climate change but also to relieve the debt that keeps so many trapped in poverty. The year of Jubilee is very much a biblical thing that focussed on the remission of debt and it also asks us to translate this on a social level, so that no one will be crushed by debt.
As we come out of Christmas where God chose to act by coming into the world as a helpless child born in poverty, to be one of us, let us remember that Jesus shows us the face of God, a God who is compassionate and merciful to those suffering in body and spirit. Let us seek, in 2025, to relieve that suffering and pray for peace so that we may live together in peace free from suffering and free of debt.