Ambulance sirens are blaring in the streets
There is a desperate rush to resuscitate those in distress
The same concern is not shared in heeding Christ’s call to save our souls

Police sirens are sounding loudly, piercing the ears of those who sleep
Apprehending the offenders whose lawless works are causing unrest
With little or no concern for our transgressions, in keeping God’s Word

All the people in the world are seeking peace
It is indeed very hard to find
Peace being found only when we learn to walk with God and are reconciled with Him

The hospital beds are full in the Cities and Towns
There are many people sick and unwell
But there is a most beautiful house where Christ the Great Physician can be found
Caring for the wounds of our troubled souls

Governments everywhere pursue ever increasing growth
It is for the good of the people we are told
Money is the name of the game
Forgetting what is not profitable before God, also has no lasting purpose for man

People are searching for love they are desperate to find it
To love and to be loved
Claiming to have a love for God when having no regard or love for each another
Failing to understand that “he who forgives little, loves little”
(Luke: 7, vs.47)

Many refer to the civilised world
Good order is their aim
A call for order to become good citizens of this world
Ignoring Christ’s invitation to become “citizens of heaven” of a kingdom not of this world
(Philippians 3:20)

Many are those who consider themselves of the true faith
Priding themselves for their belief, a shameful stance of arrogance without grace
Thinking that their prayers are directed to God when all the time they are directed to themselves

Uncertainty makes a man unstable
Faith gives certainty to what man is able
Forgetting what the Lord said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)
Christ being our Rock and our Foundation

The information age is a force unto itself
Forcing man to look down closer to the ground, to see the minute and the microscopic
To be subsumed in the detail of endless madness
And so, forgetting to look up, losing both context and perspective, seeing no horizon nor foreground

Many use the Word and Name of God to make pronouncements
Instructing others for what they do not know
Though unable to see their own brow
They speak of inner peace not knowing it for themselves

There are many who like to surf, they have never been to the ocean to ride a wave
A pointless search snuffing out good time
Seeking something good, but then being overwhelmed they drown

These are the days that are not safe
Fear is coming to the hearts and minds of those who have been shaken in their faith
With their endless chatter for when may be the end of time
Not even do the Angels have knowledge of it
For it will come ‘like a thief in the night’
(1 Thessalonians 5:2)

Wherever you go you will see people wearing masks
Some calling it blasphemy, seeing it as a great conspiracy and cover up
Forgetting they themselves are wearing masks
Masquerading as people they are not
One face for the people and another one for God

There are those who assume a self-righteous faith
Believing in a holiness that they themselves make
Seeking to be consoled by others just like them
Fantasizing of pure holiness they believe is somewhere far away
Like in some isolated monastery, or in some historical Church, or listening to someone who climbs on to a pedestal to make themselves heard
Not revering the Church Fathers God gave to them, nor the love of the people who are all around them
And so devoid of all that is good and what is given to them within their grasp, find themselves distracted dreaming of remote holiness that is always far-away

There are those who are becoming a law unto themselves
Respecting no authority above their own selves
Forgetting the Lord’s prayer “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
Laying the ground from where there is nowhere to go
Believing in a kingdom within a kingdom, a church outside the Church, a body without a spirit, mankind without God

Very Rev Father Emmanuel Stamatiou
March 22, 2022