Only God Knows What’s Next

The current global action to protect and restore Planet Earth is being prompted and enabled by the Spirit of God, the Giver of Life. ‘The Holy Ghost over the bent / World broods with warm breast and with ah! Bright wings’ (G. M. Hopkins). Humankind is not alone, fighting a helpless cause. Prophetic voices from all sides are supporting our unique historical moment of grace and challenge. We are discovering that what seems lost and beyond recovery can come to life again, as with species being rescued from extinction and with the planting of a great green wall of trees across African deserts. The boundless wisdom and dynamics of the universe, which have shaped things thus far, are available to us: we are not adrift in cosmic isolation but immersed in a sea of divine energy beyond all comprehension. We must do all we can, and pray deeply, and be willing to suffer much, knowing that divine power is at work within us to carry out God’s purposes beyond our hopes and dreams (Ephesians 3:20). In our global crisis, we are also witnessing the surprising growth, even if fragile, of the community of humankind. People of all faiths and none are joining hands in the common cause, and this meets God’s underlying desire, that we all may be one in universal harmony (John 17:11).
The divine covenant with creation endures forever: ‘When the rainbow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my everlasting covenant with every living creature on the earth’ (Genesis 9:16). ‘When you send forth your Spirit, you renew the face of the earth’ (Psalm 104:30). As Bishop Desmond Tutu says, ’Only God knows what’s next!’
Brian Grogan SJ, Creation Walk: The Amazing Story of a Small Blue Planet