Missing in Kiev
Flowers for the dead
In the March 9, 2014 edition of The New York Times, there appeared an article about the 661 people who have been reported missing in the Ukraine. A volunteer group, Euromaidan S O S, is looking for them.
This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. - Genesis 37:2-5
Today's reading begins the story of Joseph, son of Jacob, who has a special gift, to interpret dreams, and believes it is his calling to tell the truth in what he sees and hears.
This approach gets him in deep trouble with his brothers who kidnap him and sell him off as a slave, convincing their father that he is dead.
Like the tale the boys told their father about their brother's death, many rumors of the fate of these missing people have proven to be false, with some turning up in hospitals or local jails, and others simply out of contact or not wishing to be found. But Euromaidan S O S continues to press on, looking for clues of the whereabouts of the lost, those whose fate is still unknown.
In Genesis, the story of Joseph has a happy ending. The missing son is reunited with his family after saving their lives. It is a story of forgiveness and trust in God.
Our Christian brothers and sisters in the Ukraine are filled with the same hope and trust in God, that all will be worked out and the bloodshed will stop.
The situation, though, just keeps getting more and more intense as the various powers enter the picture, each claiming authority to intercede. Will they succeed in bringing about peace?
They do not have a good track record on that, do they?
Unlike news reports from past hotspot locations around the globe, this one has touched me in a personal way. As a part of the Tres Dias International community, an organization that seeks to share the love of Christ with Christians around the world, I have been in contact with someone who is right in the heart of the turmoil, and getting those updates via email does something to me.
On the one hand, I want to spread the word, but I also fear for the safety of those who are working to find the missing and protect the living.
So, I can share this for now. Pray for the missing. Pray for the killing to stop. Pray for peace.
More to come...
Photo credits: Direct from the Ukraine