I concluded last Tuesday’s “Column” with the suggestion of sitting down with Haiti reports in one hand and the book of Lamentations in the other. Why so?
Lamentations is the record of an eyewitness (traditionally Jeremiah) sitting in the midst of a devastated city. The year is 587 BC, the city is Jerusalem and the devastation the work of a brutal Babylonian army. Most of the population is being deported and the devastation is total. Each of the five chapters adds to the scene: all the buildings are utterly ruined, temple, palace and ordinary home indiscriminately; young men have been killed, women ravished; hunger is everywhere, water has to be bought, and children beg for bread but receive none; desolation and emptiness are everywhere, along with despair, agony and hopelessness. And much more! Jeremiah is part of all this – he had actually experienced all this whilst the destruction happened; he has suffered deeply and is broken hearted at the scene. He has survived by the grace of God.
Sitting with Jeremiah (if that thought is not too impertinent) and seeing what he sees, I face a profound challenge; Am I really seeing a picture of the judgement of God? Jeremiah clearly thought so, and says so. For over 30 years he had prophesied it would come. Now it had come and he was overwhelmed, but knew what it meant. I find myself being similarly overwhelmed by the nature and the horror of such judgement. “God, can you really do this? Can you really let this happen? Are these happenings really portents of your ultimate dealings with human unrighteousness?” The questions go to the very core of my being. I want to remodel God to lessen the impact, to pass on the horror somewhere else. But I simply cannot. For a moment I change my location and look at Jesus dying in agony on the cross for sin, the horror becomes more vivid still, but I certainly cannot pass up the fact he was suffering judgement for sin on our account. I have to square up to the impact of judgement.
There is, however, a moment of huge relief. Jeremiah’s voice is heard saying, “because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (3:22). Looking to God is to rekindle hope. The recognition of the reality of judgement does not close his heart to God but opens it wide to seek him and receive his forgiveness and love.
No! I haven’t condemned the Haitians – I have sought simply to face up to the fact of judgement.
Bob
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Are all natural disasters judgements? If not, how do we know which ones are?
ReplyDeleteI had a colleague who before joining the firm had lost his arm in a factory accident involved an Archimedes screw. A Christian hospital visitor told him it was God's judgement on him. My colleague lacked the physical energy to hit the fellow with his remaining arm, but had he done so, I'm sure God would have approved.
ReplyDeleteAs I read the Gospel stories on judgement, the emphasis seems to be judgement on the household of the so-called faithful. Not, therefore a bad place to start. Best, I think, to set to one side that the movement of tectonic plates may or may not be related to the Fall, and concentrate on the response of humankind, especially the Christian dept. of said organisation, to the agony of those also made in the image of God. Then perhaps a segue into the present and historical circumstances that so many live in dreadful poverty and appear to have few advocates on earth to mirror their advocate in heaven. Self-examination and restoration seem to be the starting point for any response.