DELETE – Keith Briscoe visits Uniontown
Scripture reading: Job 38:1-11. Text: “Jesus said to them: . . .’When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. THERE WILL BE EARTHQUAKES in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.'” Mark 13:5-8. What does the word: STERILE mean? It means: free from living germs, barren, and not producing offspring or result. In the seminary, we were taught, that sterile gospel may sound good, however, it is detached from real life and it is not meaningful or applicable. Now, what is better and safer? Try to find – not so much an explanation – but comfort and encouragement concerning the great catastrophe that occurred two weeks ago in Southeast Asia or just ignore it and let the meditation or sermon be “sterile gospel?” Is silence, that is saying nothing, an answer also?
Obviously, there are many questions (for instance: how could God permit it?) and whoever tries to deal with this tragic disaster takes chances to be found wrong. I have to admit that I don’t know good biblical or logical explanations, only and simply wish to share with you just a few points of view. Who is so gifted and has acceptable answers, please let us know them. For a starting point. please study our scripture reading as God instructs Job about His sovereignty: “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?'” Job 38:1-2. Please read the whole passage, or even better the whole chapter of 38.
THESE ARE WHAT WE HAVE TO FACE IN AN ESCALATING ORDER: PROBLEMS, DIFFICULTIES, MISTAKES, MISHAPS, MISFORTUNES, ACCIDENTS, TRAGEDIES, DISASTERS AND CATASTROPHES.
We can classify tragedies, disasters and catastrophes as “man-made” and “nature-induced” as Jesus had said: “Nation will rise against nation . . . there will be earthquakes . . . and famines.” See our text. (Iraq – Southeast Asia – Sudan.)
May I ask you, please, do not draw the wrong parallel between the flood that only Noah and his family had survived, read Genesis 6:9 till 8:22, and this tsunami in Southeast Asia. This flood hit Indonesia very hard and Indonesia is that country where many Muslims live, so we may ask them as well: can your faith and religion offer a reasonable explanation to the questions in connection with this heartbreaking disaster?
While we, from the viewpoint of theology, are perplexed, GEOLOGY (the science that deals with the earth’s crust, and what can be found beneath it) has a logical explanation. Volcanoes (like Mount St. Helens) erupt every so often with devastating explosion, and the volcanoes that are beneath the ocean could create tremendous waves as they erupt. According to scientists, (you could have heard it or read it) tsunamis can reach the shores of our countries, too. The movie The Day After Tomorrow depicted how a huge tidal wave hit New York City. It was science fiction.
It is a deep-rooted question; how deeply should our heavenly Father get delve into our human affairs and Mother Nature’s events? Mother Nature often becomes Mother Torture, just think about hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, droughts and extreme temperatures, not to mention plagues, famines and epidemics. When, where and to what extent should the divine providence interfere in our politics (dictatorship, war, exploitation) and controlling the devastating elements of nature? Could we agree on this? This tsunami killed around one hundred fifty thousand people, however, during the World War II between fifty and sixty million were killed. Think of this tsunami and holocaust at the same time.
To what positive conclusion can we come after being saddened by this tsunami?
– We should be grateful that we were spared. We are not immune to disaster either.
– We should learn, and not forget, that our human knowledge and power are limited. Please read apostle Paul appropriate question: 1 Corinthians 1:20.
– We should practice empathy, sympathy and charity. Let us be a Good Samaritan.
– Science, organization and cooperation are equally and existentially important.
– Was this a lesson to those who follow a different religion, how important the help of the West and the aid of the Christians can be? If the Gospel (Koran) does not bring us together should a tsunami do it?
How many of us possess such strong faith of which apostle Paul had borne testimony: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21.
The Rev. Alexander Jalso is a retired United Presbyterian minister living in Brownsville.