Questions, Questions
I got here late and I’m trying to figure out the plot.
I got a back seat in the Milky Way Galaxy, one of 10 trillion galaxies in the universe.
It’s a comfortable seat, but it is difficult to see across the 100,000 light-year diameter (a light year is 5.9 trillion miles).
I arrived at the last second of this 13.8 billion-year-old light show.
My seat is located on the third planet of one of 100 billion stars in this galaxy.
To say that my position in the universe is similar to a grain of sand in the Sahara Desert is a flattering exaggeration.
At the same time, I look upon my life as a miracle.
My 4.5-billion-year old planet has produced a dizzying array of life forms, and after five extinctions, it has given birth to humans. I feel privileged to be part of a remarkable species. Like the other 7.4 billion people on earth, I am composed of 7,500 working parts, all controlled by a wrinkly, gray sponge hidden under my bald head.
I am among the fortunate 87 percent of people who have enough to eat. Half of the people on this planet live on less than $2.50 a day and more than 152 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. At least 64 million have been forced to flee their homes and 500 million can’t read or write.
Evidently, residents on this blue planet are not skilled at living together and sharing.
I am part of the 32 percent of the world citizens who are members of Christian churches and we seem to be unaccepting of the 21 percent who are Muslim. In fact, while nearly all religions teach us to love and care for one another, religion is more frequently the cause of friction and war.
One would think Christians would concentrate their efforts on addressing world inequities, but the United Methodist Church is spending far more time debating issues related to sexuality.
I doubt if the homeless and the refugees will care about “A Way Forward.” Whatever direction the denomination takes will have little meaning to them.
As I say, I got here late, and I’m still trying to figure out the plot.
The Rev. Rich Peck of Nashville, Tenn., a retired clergy member of the New York Annual Conference, is a longtime United Methodist communicator who has served as a communicator at 12 General Conference sessions, including four as editor of the Daily Christian Advocate, a conference communicator, editor of Newscope and as a news writer for United Methodist News Service. Most recently he has served as a communications consultant for the General Commission on United Methodist Men.