In 2002, Sue and I packed up our 1995 Buick Century with our
Norwegian Elkhound for a couple of weeks in DeSoto, Missouri to get some rest
and do some writing having forgotten about the tornado that had passed through
not long before. Hiking paths were still closed because of fallen trees. At
worship in DeSoto that Sunday, the congregation was just rededicating their
space for worship after significant damage.
Whenever a natural disaster strikes, I hear some “religious”
leader talking about God’s judgment against whoever is affected. Rarely do I
hear about God acting for the sake of the people.
Certainly there had been destruction, yes lives were lost,
and the people were grieving, but the people were also rebuilding structures
and their relationships with one another.
Are we to believe that each natural destructive event is a
judgment against? If an avalanche occurs and no one is hurt, do we thumb our
noses and say, “You missed?” Was the flooding of New Orleans during Huricane
Kate or the recent hurricane damage in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico a judgment against these
places, or was it a wake up call for the rest of our nation to pay attention to
our corporate complicity in contributing to climate change endangering God’s
people. Did recent storms really say something about the people there, or did
it say something to us?
There is not much that we can do to protect ourselves from
tornados except warnings, but the conditions of these other places were
apparent and reported long before the events took place. Where were we then?
In today’s reading, I think that Habakkuk may have the right
idea. We stand in awe of God’s work. Devastation runs before God; and God acts
in ways to lift up and save the people.
In the places of destruction we see God’s hand in lifting up
the oppressed, in walking with the grieving, in building new relationships of
hope. We will continue to hear about floods in the Dakotas and down the
Mississippi Valley. There will be tsunamis and earthquakes around the world. If
we aren’t challenged as a world community to come to their aid, then the
judgment is on us. Christ has come so the world might
be saved. We have a long way to go.
Prayer
Lord, we thank you for judging us with mercy. Help us to be
merciful too. Amen
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