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ABSENCE

March 17, 2026

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 | John 5:1-18 | Psalm 46:1-8

7 The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken;
God has spoken, and the earth shall melt away.

8 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Psalm 46:7-8

This year, inspired by my niece who gave up Chik-Fil-A for Lent (kudos to Bea!), I planned to give up one of my vices. However, I failed to put rules around my task, and immediately failed.  Is this going to impact my Lenten season, I wondered?  Singing Sunday hymns about fasting and needing strength, I questioned whether I was really experiencing the rigors of Lent.

Fast forward a couple days, and without warning, the US launched a war in Iran, and now the region is flooded with gruesome bombing, fire, suffering, and death.  My Lenten failure is long forgotten.  Now we all face: unexpected ABSENCE.  The absence of understanding.  The absence of certainty.  The absence of control.  The absence of calm.  The absence of peace.

I do not mean to understate the terror felt by those living amid the war.  Nor can I imagine what that horror is like.  But, as a citizen of the aggressor, all I can do – what I MUST do – is rely on my faith to stay stalwart.  This is not a self-imposed fast, so it’s especially challenging, and very appropriate for the season I believe.  No human can predict the outcome.  We have lost control.  Only God knows. 

What strikes me as ironic, and a bit hopeful, and a bit sad at the same time, is that this is history repeating itself, and still, we are here today with God guiding us toward peace, through the horrors that humans inflict on each other.  Isn’t that a prayer of hope?  (And a prayer of why haven’t we humans learned better by now?) 

I am fully focused on letting go and letting God as there’s nothing else to be done in this moment!  No strategizing, no finding a hack, no finding a way to suffer through.  We have faith, and prayer, and hope. The Lord of hosts is with us.

Laura Bottaro