The Pastor’s Pen - Inspirational thoughts from Pastor Mark Selbo
The Pastor’s Pen
All of us by now have no doubt seen the horrifying pictures and heard the almost unimaginable statistics: the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 killed an estimated 200,000 people, and left millions more homeless and in desperate need of shelter and emergency assistance. A lack of food, water and sanitation, along with a collapsed infrastructure, poor medical facilities, and a breakdown in security, has left one of the poorest countries in the world devastated. Even before the earthquake, most Haitians lived on $2 or less per day. For millions, even that pitiful amount has now been taken away.
In the wake of such a terrible disaster, we may find ourselves asking, “Where is God in the midst of all of this? How could God allow such a tragedy to happen? Is God powerless to stop such suffering? Doesn’t God care?” It’s not only the ground that the earthquake has shaken. For many of us, it can be our faith in God as well.
Without trying to provide an answer to all of the questions we might be struggling with, let me share a few truths. First, the witness of the Bible is clear: God does care. God cares for all the people of the world with an infinite compassion. God cares so much that he sent his Son to suffer death on a cross. Rather than turning away from the world’s suffering, God entered into that suffering. In the person of Jesus, God experienced the world’s suffering firsthand. And because he did – because God was willing to go all the way to the cross – evil has been defeated, and we have been given the promise of a future without suffering. In the words of Revelation, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
A second truth: While we await the day in which suffering will be no more, God is actively at work in the world through people of goodwill. The outpouring of support from people moved by the Haitians’ suffering is a sure sign of God’s presence. The efforts of organizations like Lutheran World Relief (www.lwr.org) are a tangible expression of God’s compassion for people in need. You and I, along with other people of faith, are God’s hands and feet in the world today. As the Apostle Paul says, we are the body of Christ. It’s through people like us, and millions more around the globe, that God’s work is being carried out.
And then finally: Contrary to the outrageous statement made by Pat Robertson, the people of Haiti are not to blame for the earthquake that has devastated their nation. While “blaming the victim” is often a natural response in the face of tragedy or misfortune (it goes back as least as far as the friends of Job), it is not biblical. Seeing a man who had been blind from birth, the disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” (John 9:2) When Jesus replied, “Neither,” he repudiated that kind of blaming the victim mentality. Rather than blaming the man or his parents, Jesus responded by healing the man. Jesus demonstrated the same kind of compassion that God wants you and me to show.
As we wrestle with questions of faith, especially questions about evil and suffering, may God help us to look to the cross. It’s in the cross that we find God’s answer to the world’s brokenness. And it’s in the cross that we see the divine compassion that can be an example for us as we reach out to people in need.
Blessings on your Lenten journey,
Pastor Selbo
