Yesterday we heard that the Doomsday Clock has been moved a couple of minutes closer to midnight. In 1947 a group of atomic scientists developed this clock as a way of calling the world's attention to the peril of nuclear weapon proliferation. The minute hand has moved toward and away from midnight through the years, depending on world circumstances. In 1991, arms treaties resulted in moving the hand back to seventeen minutes before Armageddon. The recent resetting inched it to within five minutes of midnight.
The article I read began "Be afraid. Be more afraid." I don't want to live in fear. I am a realist, and appreciate the insanity of nuclear arsenals at high alert, as well as rogue nations developing this terrible capability. Our cavalier attitude toward the health of the environment of which we are a part is also pushing the minute hand in the wrong direction.
Still, my Christian faith calls me to live and love beyond fear, and to trust that I can be God's partner in a new day. The invitation is to live in "dawning day" time rather than by a doomsday clock. My attitudes and my actions must correspond with that commitment.
There is a simple chorus in the soon-to-be-published More Voices music resource called Don't Be Afraid which we have used in worship as a prayer response. It says:
Don't be afraid. My love is stronger, my love is stronger than your fear.
Don't be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised,
promised to be always near.
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