Art by Jon Kamrath Display February, 2022 at MN Landscape Arboretum 2022

War always destroys. War punishes the innocent. War denies the humanity of the other.

Russia’s invasion into Ukraine has been heart-wrenching.  In a push to expand the Russian empire, it is a war started without provocation.  Vladimir Putin’s justification for  war has made no sense.  Claiming to be denazifying the Ukraine, when Ukraine’s president is Jewish, doesn’t jibe with reality.

It’s not that Putin hasn’t deceived the Russian people before, but, this week’s attack on a Nuclear Power plant made me wonder just how sane Putin is. A rational person wouldn’t risk  an attack that could spew radiation not only in Ukraine, but in your own land.  A rational person wouldn’t threaten nuclear war.

We’ve known for years that political opponents of Vladimir Putin have died by poisoning.  Now, information on what is actually happening is being stifled in Russia, as independent news organizations are forced off the air. Meanwhile,  internet access to outside sources becomes increasingly difficult.  Protestors are silenced and imprisoned.

Today, when hope for a righteous  peace seems distant, I’m  reminded of the Psalmist who proclaims that:  “The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.” I’m praying for the people of Ukraine that God melts mountains standing in the way of justice and peace.  May God shine light on the righteous and deliver them from wicked hands.

      “The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
       before the Lord of all the earth.

     Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
     for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
     and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

     “Light shines on the righteous
     and joy on the upright in heart.” Psalm 97:5, 10-11 NIVUK