UPFRONT August 10, 2009 Issue

TO BE AN INSTANT PRAYER RESPONDER

INGRID PESCHKE,

Today's news is so quick it's sometimes difficult to catch your breath before the next update comes flying in. Through modern portable media like BlackBerries and iPhones, not to mention the twittering phenomenon that's completely changed the speed at which news travels, the world scene is instantly available. Whether one is faced with reports of lives lost, scandalous actions, threats to peace, or more positive indications of the global goings-on, there's a counter need to be just as speedy with a spiritual response.

I can't help but think of the news Jesus dealt with on a daily basis. Not unlike today, the greatest need at his time was for healing, and he responded to the messages from the masses. Lazarus had died? Not so; he would raise him to life. A young girl was gravely ill? Do not fear; he would restore her health. A woman struggling with an ailment for twelve years? Let history cease to be; the healing Christ would save her.

The Sentinel's purpose is to help its readers develop the same Christly kind of response that Jesus employed in dealing with the world's ills. And this week's writers provide needed insights into that vital role. Michelle Boccanfuso writes, "I see it as the job of the Christ—not of news alerts or broadcasting companies or individuals—to fill each of us with the facts as God knows them. To tell the true story of the integrity, intelligence, innocence, beauty, and unlimited good that are the natural outpouring from God" (p. 6). And in "The global reach of news—and prayer" The Christian Science Monitor's Managing Editor Marshall Ingwerson comments, "We hold a view of our readers as individuals who want to think and act constructively about the world around them. So we strive to serve and support that impulse" (p. 10).

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