The Children of COP24

 "You are not mature enough to tell it like it is.
Even that burden you leave to us children."

Greta Thunberg

 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:1-6

International climate change conferences are baffling entities, bringing together thousands of representatives from governments which often seem reluctant to make bold decisions or are deliberately obstructive. At COP24, now drawing to a close in Poland, four countries, including the United States and Saudi Arabia, have refused to endorse an important United Nations report on the catastrophic prospects of climate change. It's obvious that these countries have no intention of doing anything which would affect current prosperity for the sake of a better future.

A bright light at COP24 are the children and young people who are raising their voices about their immediate future. One of them is a 15-year-old from Sweden who has a Pippy Longstockings look to her. During her time in Katowice Greta Thunberg has addressed the Secretary-General of the United Nations, spoken at a panel hosted by the World Bank, and received a standing ovation at the Action Hub, an amphitheater set up by the host for less formal discussion.

Greta ended up in Poland because for the past few months, she has left school every Friday to sit outside the Swedish parliament building in Stockholm, conducting a sometimes solitary protest against her government’s slow movement on climate change.  She was inspired by the national student walkout in the U.S. earlier this year in response to school shootings.

She isn't done. Greta has called for an international school strike today to draw attention to climate change. I have no idea if this will get any traction but it really is remarkable that this teen is able to stir international interest to what should be a subject and conference of pressing concern for the planet.

 Peaceable Kingdom Edward Hicks

Christians are fond of quoting the prophetic voice of Isaiah as a prediction of the coming of Jesus as the Promised One who comes as a child. This reading for Isaiah 11 is often part of the Advent season for that reason. We might also ask how God works through the openness and honesty of children to bring about shalom for the planet, the "peaceable kingdom" of hope, peace, joy and love for all living creatures. We need to share their prophetic vision.



Polish Student Strikers at COP24 today