Who’s afraid of the Permacrisis? Part 1

Cartoon: from the Collins’ Dictionary Blog website

Post office bosses under criminal investigation… UK ship sinking in Red Sea after Houthi attack…Putin shows off chilling convoy of missiles in Moscow…Biden’s hopes for Gaza ceasefire are wishful thinking…hopes of restricting global temperature rise to 1.5 degC almost gone…

Whether it’s the BBC News, my Microsoft newsfeed on the laptop, or the Guardian Weekly, the tales of woe jostle each other for top spot. According to the website of Collins’ Dictionary, 2022’s Word of the Year was permacrisis, a term that perfectly embodies the dizzying sense of lurching from one unprecedented event to another, as we wonder bleakly what new horrors might be around the corner. Collins defines it as “an extended period of instability and insecurity” and that certainly rings true. Much more of this and we might have forgotten what stability and security ever felt like.

 The website shows the cartoon above, with a traffic crossing permanently set to “Don’t Cross”; a shopping trolley showing escalating prices; a tank; and if you visit the website you’ll see a Covid-19 cell merrily cartwheeling across the screen.

-o-O-o-

“Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name; you are mine.”

So – you’re saying I belong to somebody who knows my name, and tells me I don’t have to be scared, right? But what about the cyclones, the torrential rain and flooding?

“When you walk through the waters I’ll be with you,  You will never sink beneath the waves.” 

Or the dreadful heat domes that afflict increasing numbers of countries each summer?

“When the fire is burning all around you,  You will never be consumed by the flames.” 

What will I say to the climate change refugees who’ll be seeking sanctuary on our shores in ever-increasing numbers?

“When you dwell in the exile of a stranger, Remember you are precious in my eyes.”

These are words from ‘Do not be afraid’, a modern day worship song, but they were originally penned around 600 BC by a prophet called Isaiah (Chapter 43). God wanted to comfort his exiled people, who felt the bottom had dropped out of their world. For them, life felt scary and hostile, with all the old certainties removed. Does this sound familiar?

It sounds as if I’m saying God’s people are immune to natural disasters. I don’t believe that. But I do believe we’re called to live by ‘perma-faith’ rather than ‘perma-fear’. Let me begin to explain.

-o-O-o-

We’re using Pete Greig’s Prayer Course throughout Lent. It’s mindboggling to discover how God loves to converse with we humans about the intimate details of our lives. And yet, he can move our hearts to pray effectively about geopolitical conflicts, weather events, making our streets safe…His passion is for people, and he treasures it when we become caught up in his purposes, allowing our hearts to be broken by what breaks his. Supremely, he loves it when people find faith in Jesus, and come to follow him.

The Bible tells us that God isn’t in any permacrisis. He doesn’t see things like we do. Moses expressed what he saw like this:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God (Psalm 90 vs 1-2)

And I’ve more to say! Time to write a companion post…