{"id":10938,"date":"2020-11-23T13:54:03","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T19:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=10938"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:37:52","slug":"hope-in-hard-times-is-an-element-of-our-prophetic-vocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2020\/11\/23\/hope-in-hard-times-is-an-element-of-our-prophetic-vocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope in hard times is an element of our prophetic vocation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Faris Mohammed<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been catching myself singing and there’s a surprising theme to the songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering the state of things, there’s a lot of reasons why silence might make more sense, why a somber state might be more appropriate than song. In recent weeks, the COVID-19 crisis has become so deadly that morgues cannot keep up<\/a>. It remains uncertain whether there will be a smooth transition of political power after the recent election in the United States. Every day, my heart is heavy with grief and concern, as I pray for someone else who is experiencing homelessness or is unemployed, imprisoned, sick, dying or now deceased. Plus, I continue to be challenged by the ongoing need for reconstruction, for the building of a society not based on the evils of systemic racism and environmental degradation; it’s big, overdue work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel helpless and lost, I am not sure how to help. It’s a lot, and I am discouraged and overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, I am singing. When I am out on walks and washing the dishes, I am humming. When I pause in prayer, lyrics come to the front of my mind. It took me a while to notice that the songs had something in common, but now… [This is the beginning of my latest column for the online newspaper,\u00a0Global Sisters Report<\/a>. Continue reading\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I’ve been catching myself singing and there’s a surprising theme to the songs. Considering the state of things, there’s a lot of reasons why silence might make more sense, why a somber state might be more appropriate than song. In recent weeks, the COVID-19 crisis has become so deadly that morgues cannot keep up. It remains...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":10941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2178641],"tags":[698755536,2568,694479852,401,20816,241748,1339],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-10938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-advent-music","tag-christian","tag-covid-19","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-struggle","tag-virtues","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/faris-mohammed-nYGVN45DOHg-unsplash-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

Hope in hard times is an element of our prophetic vocation<\/a><\/blockquote>