June 2008

Dear Friends

“When disaster strikes ...”

None of us are unaffected by the news of suffering on an almost unimaginable scale such as the two stories in the media of late, in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis in Burma, and following the earthquake in South East China.  Dozens of thousands of lives lost in both, with a rising toll feared in both, as the extent of the misery is uncovered, and at least in the first of these as the national government has singularly failed to appreciate its responsibility and to accept the resources of the wider world in terms of emergency aid provision and emergency response expertise. 

The lives of millions have been traumatically affected by what they have been going through, and the journey towards any sort of recovery will be long and difficult.  Some of us watched the moving Christian Aid video recently which included the story of Puspavathi, a lady in Sri Lanka who lost several members of her family in the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and who is only now through the support and specialist counselling offered able to begin to rebuild her life.  And she is only one of so very many.

And although these are the headline-grabbing stories, and no doubt the news-hungry media will have moved on to the next ‘big event’ – although thankfully Christian Aid, BMS World Mission and other agencies we support remain in the situations to ensure long-term recovery is encouraged – there are stories of suffering on a more personal scale unfolding all the time.  Bereavement in the loss of a loved one, struggles with ill-heath for ourselves or in our families, tensions and breakdown in relationships, deep-seated anxieties and fears about the future at work or simply in life – such experiences and more are found in and across our community as a church, reflecting indeed their presence in and across our culture, our society, our town, our land.

So where is God in it all? And what about the Christian faith to help us when disaster strikes?  This isn’t the place to offer any sort of glib or trite statement (is there any place for such?!), and there isn’t time to do justice in a few hundred words to such huge issues (would any amount of time or column inches make this possible?!), but doesn’t something like our church text, about God’s promise of peace, offer us some encouragement?  Peace is God’s promise, peace is God’s gift, peace is God’s will – and by peace I believe God intends not simply the absence of fighting, conflict, injustice or even illness, but a real sense of satisfaction, a depth of wellbeing for us and our communities, a full chord of rich harmony, an experience of wholeness, of renewal, of rest and refreshment.  Truly this is a peace “that the world cannot understand”.

For this is the vision of the future kingdom of God, where everything works perfectly, where no one is excluded or exploited, and yet it’s also a reality for which we are called to work, to pray, to reach out in faith and hope.  Hope, at least as understood in the light of Jesus Christ who died and was raised again and who has sent his Spirit as Counselling Encouraging Presence, is one of the unique perspectives on life that Christian believers have and can share with others.  By itself it doesn’t take away the pain of loss, and it doesn’t stop earthquakes or typhoons, or global warming that literally threatens life on an even vaster scale, but, even when disaster strikes, doesn’t it offer us a way forward, as we contemplate the cross and the suffering of Jesus to save and redeem the world, but sense also the power of Jesus’ resurrection by God and the transformation for the whole world that follows, even through the life of the Church. 

“In this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty.  Let it be so today, for us and for the world, Amen!

With my prayers in love, in faith and in hope, above all in Christ our Lord,

Andrew