None of us begins our day knowing or expecting that some tragedy will befall us. So, we go about the living of our lives making all sorts of things seem terribly important. Then, from out of nowhere, something horrific happens. In an instant, our priorities are realigned.
People have many ways of understanding tragedy in light of their faith. Sometimes even faithful, well-meaning Christians blame God or give attributes to God that are not what we know of God through the Bible. Our faith holds firmly to the conviction that God is not petty – He does not cause or inflict tragedy on us. God does not use storms as some sort of divine karma to punish people. We believe that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). The Old Testament declares: “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). We hear from the gospels of God as a loving parent (Matthew 7:11).
Our faith declares that Jesus gets His hands dirty in our lives (John 13 – Jesus washes His disciples’ feet). Instead of God fleeing from the hurt, destruction, and messiness of our lives, He comes closer. Jesus was not born in a beautiful hospital to a royal family at a peaceful time. This is the miracle of the Incarnation.
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Those of us who are not in the affected areas can only watch the images and imagine the shock of seeing your home and your neighbors homes completely gone. We can only imagine the anguish of the families who have lost or who can’t find children, friends, family, and pets.
So, even from afar, we stand with our sisters and brothers of Oklahoma. Please do so in whatever ways you are able.
- Pray
- Stand by not letting the news become entertainment. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). These are our neighbors regardless of location, political affiliation, or religious belief. If something like this happened to you, how would you hope they would respond?
- Act. For most of us, the best way to act is through giving money. In the Lutheran Church, we have a wonderful organization called Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). 100% of your gifts will go to those in need. Keep in mind, LDR’s emphasis is on long-term recovery. If you are interested in the immediate response, consider organizations like the American Red Cross.
My dear friend, Joe Summerville, is the pastor at University Lutheran Church in Norman, OK. He has been overwhelmed by the love, support and concern of many people through phone calls, Facebook conversations, and e-mails. People he doesn’t even know are asking “What do you need, and how can we help?” He told me that they have one family who lost their home and their cat. He said “we are thankful that nobody in our congregation was injured … we are working as a church to help the family who lost their home … but God is good, and seeing the Church doing God’s work with their hands is a beautiful sight to behold.”
Bishop Girlinghouse of the Arkansas Oklahoma Synod, wrote an open pastoral letter that shares what he is seeing and offers ways to respond. He ends his letter with the following prayer:
God of steadfast love, though destructive winds swirl around us, shattering our lives, we believe and trust that you are with us, just as you have always walked with your people through storm and strife. Today, we pray for the people of Carney, Little Axe, Shawnee, Newcastle, and Moore Oklahoma and all those affected by tornados this past week. Use us to surround them with your love, compassion and mercy. Provide them with caregivers and friends to accompany them on the long road to recovery. Be with all those who weep and mourn during these days, and comfort them with your hope and the promise of resurrection. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who gave his life so that we might know that you have the power to bring life from death. Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Epicurious Lutheran 