Midweek News 4-17-13

Dear Family of faith, “When others hurt, our hearts are broken, too.” That’s what I put on the church sign today. It’s how I feel about the pain that our country is experiencing right now after the bombings at the Boston Marathon. At last count there were three people dead—including an 8-year-old boy, a 29-year-old woman, and a graduate student from China—and 176 people injured, many losing limbs. When such things happen to innocent people, it’s natural to ask “Where is God?” Where was God when the bombs went off in Boston? Where is God when bad things happen to good people? The question is asked by people who believe that God is in control of our world, that God watches over our world. It throws us into confusion. I believe that when we face the tragedies and injustices of life, the horrors and darkness of evil, there are two questions which need answers: (1) Does God know? and (2) Does God care? The first question is easy. By definition God knows everything—that’s part of what makes God God. The second question is the one that causes us the most consternation. We anguish over the thought that, because bad things happen to us and those we know and even to strangers we think deserve better, maybe God doesn’t really care about what happens in the world. Maybe we are just deceiving ourselves, believing in a good God because that’s how we want God to be. And even with all the Scriptures’ teaching about the goodness and love of God, real life experiences makes us wonder whether it’s true or not. The tough times of life make us realize again that God doesn’t micromanage the world; God allows us humans much freedom to do good and even to do evil. Back to the question: Does God care, and if God did care, wouldn’t God have been there in Boston? It makes me think of a song that I heard long ago called Saint Theresa’s Prayer. It begins “Christ has no body now but yours.” In other words, God comes to us in this world through others in whom God lives—people like you and me who love and know God. We become Christ to the world; we bring God to the world. You see, God really was at the finish line in Boston this past week when those bombs went off. God was running toward the blasts, putting tourniquets on the wounded, comforting the survivors and grieving over those who had lost their lives. God was in all those people who became the face of Jesus in the midst of terror, who became the hands of Christ in the midst of pain, who became the power of God in the midst of utter hopelessness. God was in Boston in people like you and me. Let us be Christ to the world wherever we are whenever we are needed, too. Someone recently gave me a magnet with the words “I can’t change the past, but I can make peace.” Those are good words to remember. Don’t worry about the past; it’s gone and over. Just think about what you can do today to enjoy life and make it better for those around you. See you in worship on Sunday. With affection, Pastor Carlan