As we look at the weather tragedies across the United States, our attention is drawn to the Midwest, where tornadoes have cluster-ravaged several states... Centering on The State of Oklahoma.
We are reminded of Biblical floods, earthquakes, and storms at sea. Note that the Bible takes these events in stride; as in, they always have been and always will be. This is because it is the truth. We may ask - Does the Bible offer us no comfort? Well, no, and yes.
For thousands of years writers have grappled with, "the eye of the storm theology". Few of their explanations come near to satisfying us. We want answers and we want them every time a new disaster rears its ugly head. Then the passage of time dulls our appetite for immediate answers and we settle back into the comfortable label: "Acts of God". That is until the next time a portion of our world explodes in earth, wind, and fire.
Okay, you may accuse this writer of saying a lot of nothing about the subject that is something, but with Acts of God, it is hard to do more. So...
We pray for the victims of these latest disasters and those soon to come after I close this writing. Yes, more storms are on their way. More property and lives will be shattered and lost. Then we will pray again. Possibly, a Jewish philosopher explains the unexplainable the best:
"When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him.
In the same way the human being struggles with his environment and with the hooks that catch him. Sometimes he masters the difficulties; sometimes they are too much for him. His struggles are all the world sees and it naturally misunderstands them. It is hard for a free fish to understand what is happening to the a hooked one."
Karl A. Menninger
+ Metropolitan Joel
Apostolic Chancellor
+ Metropolitan Joel
Apostolic Chancellor
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