Current News and a Balance

Today I read a newspaper that had three disturbing items. This was a daily paper, not a scandal sheet.

The first story was about a man who with about 50 others in this one suburb, goes down through the man hole cover into the sewer system with a bucket to sort through the sewage looking for items worth retrieving. He explained that he has been out of work for 5 years and got tired of looking for handouts or being hungry. He says with the sewer items he can get enough to eat and a rough place to sleep.

The second story was about a man who has been in custody for over two years waiting for a trial for a crime. The case has been continually postponed for a variety of reasons having to do with the justice system. The conditions of over crowding and deprivation where he is held were described. He has little hope of the case being settled soon.

Then there was an article warning the readers of ten ways in which they could easily be taken advantage of with their computers, credit cards, etc.

This week on the TV news there was footage taken by a bystander of the police beating up a man. The scene was terrible. But perhaps more upsetting for me was the background laughter of the other people on the scene.

I remember when were in formation in 2003, one of the directors suggested that Christians should have the newspaper in one hand and the bible in the other. I am glad that I have the resource of the scriptures. I have also been studying a helpful book, The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life. This book is a compilation of writings by Henri Nouwen. It has a great deal to say that is a balance to the many problems of the world.

Cecilia