My Blog

Tag: Earthquake

  • What Are You Doing Here?

     

    "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" is a hymn with words taken from a longer poem, “The Brewing of Soma” by American Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier. A couple of lines from this wonderful hymn have been on my mind during the last couple of months as we have had news of hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and mass shootings.

    Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
    O still, small voice of calm.

    These words are inspired by a passage of Scripture, I Kings 19:11-13, in which the Prophet Elijah is struggling to hear God’s voice. God tells Elijah to go and stand before the holy mountain. When he does, there is a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But he is not able to hear the “still small voice” of God in the midst of any of those numinous, frightening, destructive events. He is only able to hear God’s voice in the silence that follows.

    Elijah is asking God, “Where are you and what are you doing?” But when the response comes from God, it is God who is asking the questions: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

    Maybe we have been trying to hear God’s voice and wondering what God is doing in the face of all these horrific events that have destroyed life and property, dashed hopes, and undermined our sense of security. “Where are you, God, and what are you doing?”

    Silence.

    But, as we see from Elijah’s experience, silence may be the environment in which we are finally able to hear – to reflect, to discern, to understand – the Divine Voice.

    And when we do hear the Voice, we may hear the same question that Elijah heard: “What are you doing here, Ron?” Here, at this point in time, in this place, in the aftermath of the wind, the earthquake, the fire, and the violence.

    God and God’s people have been responding to all of those tragedies, offering hope, healing, and relief to people whose lives have been suddenly torn apart. Episcopal Relief and Development, for example, has people in place, working with local relief agencies and authorities to take immediate steps to help. The members of St. Andrew’s Cathedral have sent contributions to Episcopal Relief and Development to provide the funding needed to carry out the work that needs doing. Some have made their contributions directly, and others have contributed through the Cathedral. Thus far, we have sent $7,370 for hurricane relief.

    Soon, it will be time to respond to calls for teams of people to go to affected areas and get physically involved. This article by ERD head Rob Radtke provides a helpful description of what is being done and what each of us can do to help in the days ahead. The Episcopal Diocese of Nevada is providing support and advocacy following the massacre in Las Vegas. And people around the world are joining their voices in prayer for the victims and for divine guidance for those who work to make do the things and make the changes that will protect God’s children.

    Thank you for what you are doing. When the time comes for a call to go, I hope we will have people with the physical strength and time to respond. In every case, may we continue to listen for God’s voice!

    Here's a beautiful recording of that hymn, sung by the Choir of Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire, England.


    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    St. Andrew’s Cathedral
    Jackson, Mississippi

     

  • What then are we to say about these things?

     

    As if the tragedy of earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador and fatal flooding in Texas isn’t bad enough, the world is subjected to the predictable voices of those who claim that these disasters are signs of divine retribution. There have always been, and perhaps always will be, those who speculate that God uses natural disasters to punish humanity and those who try to pinpoint the end of history when God’s judgment will be rendered.

    These issues have been around so long we even have terms for theological discourse concerning them. For example, Theodicy attempts to deal with how and why a benevolent God allows evil and suffering. And, Eschatology is the study of questions about the final events of history or the ultimate destiny of humanity.

    Our response to human tragedy and our beliefs about God’s intentions probably say more about our own personality and outlook on life than about God. It is understandable when people are hurting and need to assign blame for the events that caused harm. And people whose experience of life involves heavy doses of righteous indignation and divine retribution naturally want God to take charge and straighten out everybody they disapprove of.

    For my own part, I’m impressed with the complexity of the physical universe. The more science discovers about things like quarks, chaos, leptons, and pheromones, the more my view of the Divine Being expands. Why would God go to so much trouble just to perplex humanity and then to destroy us?  Isn’t it just as likely that God created all things for good and gave human beings the resources to discover ways to cherish and protect creation and its creatures? For me, life is one big epiphany!

    When I peer into suffering, I see the God of compassion not causing harm but caring for those who are hurting. When I ponder the end of history, what comes to mind is not a so-called “rapture” or celestial supreme court, but instead a cosmic “Ah-ha” experience in which “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess” (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, and Philippians 2:10,11).

    The issues are far from settled and the discourse will continue. Those who need a wrathful God and an end of things characterized by judgment and retribution have plenty of preachers and churches to reinforce their viewpoints. However, I am grateful to be a part of a tradition that believes “the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it” (Book of Common Prayer, 846). I am privileged to foster a view of the Christian hope, which is “to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God’s purpose for the world” (Book of Common Prayer, 861).

    What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?… Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31, 35, 37-39)

    I suggest that participation rather than speculation is a more appropriate faith-based response to disasters like these. Episcopalians can make a contribution to Episcopal Relief and Development through a parish church or directly. If you are a member of another religious body, consider participating in the relief agency associated with it. I suggest also that a prayer is more helpful than a scare. Here’s one that is adapted from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer.

    God of consolation, grant to those who suffer and sorrow at this time of devastation in Ecuador, Japan, and Texas the spirit of faith and courage, that they may have the strength to meet the days to come with steadfastness and patience; not sorrowing without hope but clinging to your goodness and love, through Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life. Amen.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue