DURING THE STORM, AFTER THE STORM -- GOD IS WITH US
Mark 4:35-41
Romans 8:18-28
It was like no other storm many of us had ever experienced, even those of us who have been through tornados. We went to bed on Sunday night with our world looking one way and woke up on Monday morning to an almost alien landscape and a natural disaster to deal with.
In the Gospel of Mark, we read the story of another terrible storm. It was not uncommon for sudden storms to roll down the hills surrounding the Sea of Galillee, picking up speed and strength as they went until they hit the Sea with hurricane force winds.
It was a terrifying experience. The wind shrieked through shredded sails as rigging snapped. The storm whipped up huge waves that quickly filled the boats. Lightening flashed; men shouted in terror.
And where was Jesus? The men found Jesus asleep on a cushion in the stern of one of the boats. "Teacher, don't you care that we're all going to drown?!?!?"
This last week, a little boy looked at the flattened corn fields of his family's farm and asked, "Grandma, was this the mad God or the good God who did this?"
A widow, anxious from her experience of this week's storm asked me, "Is somebody trying to tell us something?"
In other words, was God punishing us for something? Why did God send the storm? And some as they looked at the devastation and the all the debris may have wondered where God was in all of this? Didn't God care what was happening to us.
While Paul was addressing a different situation when he wrote this letter to Roman Christians, I think this passage is relevant to us today. In this passage, Paul mentions that creation, not just human beings, are in a state of decay. The physical creation like human beings is a redemptive work in progress which will be completed when Christ comes again and there is a new heaven and a new earth. In the meantime, there will be all sorts of natural disasters including storms like we experienced in Vinton and Garrison which ripped off the roofs of buildings, destroyed grain bins and our beautiful trees and wreaked financial and emotional havoc in our lives, leaving us with one grand mess to clean up.
In verse 28, Paul makes this statement of faith-filled affirmation: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God's purpose."
Bad things are going to happen. That is the broken state of the world, but when the storms of life hit, God is not asleep. God is already there, working for our good and redeeming the pain, the grief, and yes, even the mess, with God's love in action, God's grace.
God was with us in the storm. Think of it -- with all that damage to property, there were no human fatalities and no serious injuries. As I've visited with folks, and driven and walked the streets of Garrison and vinton, I have seen God at work through neighbors helping neighbors, teams of volunteers, out of town friends and family memembers who brought in food and water, and many more acts of compassion and mercy. And the corn is straightening up.
God will continue to be with us through the weeks to come as we put our communities and our lives back in order. God will provide the help, the resources, the patience, the strength and the courage that we will need for the tasks that lay before us. God will be present with us as we process the grief and sadness over the loss of the familar and the normal and help us live into a new normal.
During the storm and after the storm, God is with us working for our good and for our healing and wholeness.
Romans 8:18-28
It was like no other storm many of us had ever experienced, even those of us who have been through tornados. We went to bed on Sunday night with our world looking one way and woke up on Monday morning to an almost alien landscape and a natural disaster to deal with.
In the Gospel of Mark, we read the story of another terrible storm. It was not uncommon for sudden storms to roll down the hills surrounding the Sea of Galillee, picking up speed and strength as they went until they hit the Sea with hurricane force winds.
It was a terrifying experience. The wind shrieked through shredded sails as rigging snapped. The storm whipped up huge waves that quickly filled the boats. Lightening flashed; men shouted in terror.
And where was Jesus? The men found Jesus asleep on a cushion in the stern of one of the boats. "Teacher, don't you care that we're all going to drown?!?!?"
This last week, a little boy looked at the flattened corn fields of his family's farm and asked, "Grandma, was this the mad God or the good God who did this?"
A widow, anxious from her experience of this week's storm asked me, "Is somebody trying to tell us something?"
In other words, was God punishing us for something? Why did God send the storm? And some as they looked at the devastation and the all the debris may have wondered where God was in all of this? Didn't God care what was happening to us.
While Paul was addressing a different situation when he wrote this letter to Roman Christians, I think this passage is relevant to us today. In this passage, Paul mentions that creation, not just human beings, are in a state of decay. The physical creation like human beings is a redemptive work in progress which will be completed when Christ comes again and there is a new heaven and a new earth. In the meantime, there will be all sorts of natural disasters including storms like we experienced in Vinton and Garrison which ripped off the roofs of buildings, destroyed grain bins and our beautiful trees and wreaked financial and emotional havoc in our lives, leaving us with one grand mess to clean up.
In verse 28, Paul makes this statement of faith-filled affirmation: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God's purpose."
Bad things are going to happen. That is the broken state of the world, but when the storms of life hit, God is not asleep. God is already there, working for our good and redeeming the pain, the grief, and yes, even the mess, with God's love in action, God's grace.
God was with us in the storm. Think of it -- with all that damage to property, there were no human fatalities and no serious injuries. As I've visited with folks, and driven and walked the streets of Garrison and vinton, I have seen God at work through neighbors helping neighbors, teams of volunteers, out of town friends and family memembers who brought in food and water, and many more acts of compassion and mercy. And the corn is straightening up.
God will continue to be with us through the weeks to come as we put our communities and our lives back in order. God will provide the help, the resources, the patience, the strength and the courage that we will need for the tasks that lay before us. God will be present with us as we process the grief and sadness over the loss of the familar and the normal and help us live into a new normal.
During the storm and after the storm, God is with us working for our good and for our healing and wholeness.
Comments
Post a Comment