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| (Photo: REUTERS/Jason Reed) |
| 1 Kings 19: 9, 11 - 13 | |
| 9 | And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Eli'jah?" |
| 11 | And he said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; |
| 12 | and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. |
| 13 | And when Eli'jah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Eli'jah?" |
Given the current natural disasters that have or will hit our country recently, I've been thinking quite a bit about the role of God in all of this. My heart breaks for those who were adversely effected by the earthquake and I pray that those in the upcoming Hurricane Irene will be as safe as possible. I loved this reading because I felt that it totally captured the presence of God during tragic events. Our Lord is not in the earthquake, or the fire, or the act of terrorism. He helps us through these awful events, but He is not IN them. It would be wise to be careful to avoid ascribing those situations TO Him because it directly impacts our faith. It grieves me to hear, "If bad things happen to good people, then there must not be a God!" Or, at least not a merciful God in their thinking. I'll admit that I also had these thoughts throughout my life. When we had our second miscarriage, I was absolutely certain that God either "hated me", was "punishing me", or "didn't care". Each of those statements came out of my mouth at different times as I raged against the grief and unfairness of it all. In retrospect, I can now see God's hand carrying me through, and I feel as if I've developed a deeper understanding of suffering in the scheme of life.
Also, with regard to the crap (excuse me, but the best word for it...) that happens in life, it just happens! God gave us all free will. So, sometimes the choices other people make can have negative ramifications on our life, even if we are perfect. It's part of life and living. But, God can make great beauty out of those moments. We can look back and see His hand guiding us and know that He really did keep us with Him. (ie. my friend who was raped at 13, had a drug problem for her teen and young adult years, and then after conceiving her son, managed to get straight again and turn her life around. She's now in school to get a degree and is the best mother. She stayed alive in many bleak moments and managed to come out with a strong faith. Her story inspires others that we know.) And, even if something terrible happens that we never recover from, those moments can serve to bring others closer to God, even total strangers can be affected by a story enough to make changes in their lives. God didn't cause the suffering, it happens, but it can profoundly impact those around us. Just my humble opinion. :) You don't have to agree, but these things help me to keep on believing.
That is basically redemptive suffering in a nutshell, minus the whole saving souls in purgatory aspect. If we look on our suffering as an experience to not only find God in the small things, in the whispers, then we will stop letting the big catastrophes shake our faith. We will try to make moments of solitude to hear our Lord speak. I'm still struggling with this one. With two kids under the age of three, it's a little more difficult to find quiet moments or to put them to use listening to God, instead of doing an extra load of laundry or dishes or using it to veg with the television. It is helpful to remember that in my worst moments the Lord is still there, whether in the form of helpful friends and family, or in some spectacular miracle.
My favorite take away from the whole Christ Renews His Parish experience has been the encouragement to look for God moments in daily life. To look onto what we would have framed as "coincidences" before, as being the hand of God. It give me great joy to see these moments in this fashion. It deeply improves my faith to "feel" Christ there with me in my daily life.
That is basically redemptive suffering in a nutshell, minus the whole saving souls in purgatory aspect. If we look on our suffering as an experience to not only find God in the small things, in the whispers, then we will stop letting the big catastrophes shake our faith. We will try to make moments of solitude to hear our Lord speak. I'm still struggling with this one. With two kids under the age of three, it's a little more difficult to find quiet moments or to put them to use listening to God, instead of doing an extra load of laundry or dishes or using it to veg with the television. It is helpful to remember that in my worst moments the Lord is still there, whether in the form of helpful friends and family, or in some spectacular miracle.
My favorite take away from the whole Christ Renews His Parish experience has been the encouragement to look for God moments in daily life. To look onto what we would have framed as "coincidences" before, as being the hand of God. It give me great joy to see these moments in this fashion. It deeply improves my faith to "feel" Christ there with me in my daily life.
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