“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice
to the fatherless. Plea the widow’s cause.” - Isaiah 1:7
Dear friends,
As I reflect on the current carnage of the war in Ukraine, I often feel a sense of
helplessness in this present darkness. During WW2, the great statesman, Winston
Churchill, asked “What ought we to do?...What should we do in order to save our
lives and the future of the world?” He went on to say “it does not so much matter to
old people—we will be gone soon anyway; but I find it poignant to look at youth in all
their activities and ardor and most of all to watch little children playing their merry
games, and wonder what would lie before them if God wearied of mankind.”
When the evil of war possesses the hearts and minds of men, it is the children who
suffer first and the most. They do not understand why bombs are dropped, or why
Daddy is not home, or why Mom is weeping every night, or why their friends are
“gone,” or they cannot play at school. When the terror of the night envelopes their
little minds, when no comfort or succor can help them understand the despair, their
little hearts are broken, incinerated; they cannot process the death around them.
The big question is what can we do? Well, we can do something! A group of
cloistered nuns in Iowa are supporting a project to help Ukrainian refugees. U.S.
Ukrainian churches and Ukrainian neighborhoods are great resources for ways to
help. My doctor friend is rallying his colleagues to help with medical care. What can
you do? You are all capable people. You can do something!
My small effort revolves around my 55 years as a rugby guy. I recently discovered
that the Ukrainian Rugby Union has 3000 players and virtually all of them joined the
army. Their families are now in western Ukraine and Poland. My hope is that I can
rally the USA Rugby community to raise funds to help the families of the rugby guys,
whose physical strength and courage shown in the sport are now a great asset to the
defense of Ukraine. I have been in touch with some leaders; later this month I plan
to meet with a Ukrainian diplomat in NYC. (Their embassy is few blocks from us.)
We can do something! Psalm 34:14 tell us “Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace
and pursue it.” We can pray for the end of the war, and pray for how to help “the
little ones of our Lord” during this unimaginable devastation of the 21st century.
Praying for the grace and discernment to be able to take risks, find ways to serve, and
to help people understand that God’s love is greater than the sorrows of the world.
We can become an answer to the sorrow, in small loving ways.
Praying for such a grace for us all,
B.J. Weber
P.S. Google Caring Bridge B.J. Weber for my medicinal updates and some personal news. I am feeling pretty good and very hopeful. Gratitude is my mantra!