6 FAITH forum GEN-X RISING


B Finding our faith in wake of disaster


How should Christians live in the face of evil?


BY ANDREW C. THOMPSON UMR Columnist


If we ever needed a reminder that


we live in a broken world, the past few weeks have shown it to us in spades. Devastating earthquakes struck


the Pacific nations of New Zealand and Japan, causing untold damage to life and property. Tsunamis and nu- clear power plant failures have only compounded the problems facing the Japanese, who suffer with no end in sight. Meanwhile, relatively bloodless


revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have not been matched in the case of Libya. There, a full-fledged civil war appears to be in progress. Western nations are finding themselves once again drawn into armed conflict in a majority Mus- lim country. Christians tend to be inured to the


individual evil that regularly confronts them. We all experience dishonesty, greed, gluttony and violence. Some- times we ourselves perpetrate such sins. But the suffering from individual evil is sometimes easier to understand because its source seems so clear: In- dividual sins committed by individual people. It doesn’t make the conse- quences of sin any more pleasant, but it doesn’t leave us with unanswered questions of “why?” Then there’s evil that comes in


larger doses, like the evil of war or weather. Those consequences are harder to bear. There are plenty of Japanese and Libyan people who have suffered recently who did absolutely nothing to deserve their fate. How do we—and they—come to grips with the evil that is so clearly impacting their lives? Christian the-


ologians have tradi- tionally distinguished be- tween natural evil and moral evil. Nat- ural evil is that evil we see and experi- ence that comes as a consequence of living in a fallen world. Earthquakes and floods are ex- amples of it, but so are diseases and even the “natural” process of aging. Natural evil is found anywhere we see the forces of (fallen) nature acting in ways that are detrimental to life. This is decidedly not the same thing as God purposefully inflicting the suffering of an earthquake or a disease on particu-


Andrew Thompson


lar people. But it is a view that sees the experience of such things as the reality of life before Christ has finished the work of making all things new. Moral evil is the kind of evil that is


specific to human beings, including individual evil but also going beyond it. War is a good example, in that the suffering it causes is always greater than the sum total of individual acts by the participants involved. I realize that talk about evil in this


way can seem clinical and cold in the face of real suffering. And you can be sure that no pastor worth his salt is going to offer a discourse on cate- gories of evil to a hurricane victim or at a hospital bedside. On the other hand, it can be help-


ful to Christians to think seriously about evil as we try to better under- stand the world in which we live. Med- itating on evil’s many faces from a place of relative un-suffering can help to form in us the virtues necessary to endure when we do find ourselves in the context of real suffering. Wesleyans have generally taken a


couple of different approaches to the practice of their faith as it relates to the brokenness of the world. One is a belief in the perfectibility of individuals (ho- liness) and the other is a belief in the perfectibility of society (social justice). Both can trace their views from John Wesley and other early Methodists in part, though neither usually gets the Wesleyan view entirely correct. Wesley’s own view did not rest ei-


ther on the potential perfection of in- dividuals as individuals, or on the perfection of society as society. He emphasized instead the potential for followers of Jesus to be transformed within the Christian community as they partook together of the means of grace and “watched over one another in love.” This, in fact, is the core meaning of


that oft-misunderstood term “social holiness.” We live in a “git ’er done” culture


that doesn’t always cope well with the patience needed to participate in the slow but inevitable work Jesus Christ is doing to inaugurate his kingdom. But if we admit that it is Jesus’ king- dom after all, then living in such a way that we are ready for its arrival will help us face the myriad troubles we experience in our own day.


The Rev. Thompson maintains a blog at genxrising.com. Email: andrew@mandatum.org.


AP RIL 1, 2011 | UNITED MET HODI S T REPORTER


BY BISHOP ROBERT HOSHIBATA United Methodist News Service


The earthquake in Japan and the


tsunami that it triggered are abrupt reminders that creation, replete with beauty and wonder, is unpredictable and sometimes causes calamity and catastrophe. The age-old question resurfaces in


the wake of this disaster. When we see structures built by human hands torn apart by the violent shaking of the earth or the fury of rushing waters, or consumed by fire, we wonder, “Where is God in the midst of such devasta- tion and loss?” Watching images of anguish in the faces of people who search for loved ones or a place for shelter or food, we ask, “Was God present in these moments of loss?” Even faithful Christians question


why all this suffering occurs. Why doesn’t God prevent sad things from happening? Wouldn’t it be a better world if God would simply prevent all human suffering and pain? Isn’t that what we mean when we say that we believe that God is “all powerful”?


‘Mystery of faith’ I don’t pretend to know all the an-


swers. I often wish I did. However, I re- alize all too well that our human wisdom is limited in its ability to know everything about God. Try as we might, much of how God works in our world is rele- gated to the “mys- tery of faith” category. These are the divine myster- ies we cannot know and will not know until the answers are revealed to us in God’s time. I find comfort in some of the


Bishop Robert Hoshibata


bedrock statements of faith: God does not punish us by causing death and destruction; God is always present with us in Spirit; and Christ calls each of us to care for others in love. In this moment when we are con-


fronted by the earthquake and tsunami, words of faith from our hymnody give us food for thought:


God of the earthquake, God of the storm, God of the trumpet blast,


How does the creature cry, Woe? How does the creature say, Save?


God of the ages, God near at hand, God of the loving heart,


How do your children say, Joy? How do your children say, Home? —“God of the Sparrow,


God of the Whale,” Jaroslav J. Vajda God is present, even in times of


PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. NAVY/MATTHEW M. BRADLEY


A mother and daughter pause for reflection as they find a family photo amid the wreckage of their home in Ofunato, Japan.


earthquake and storm, in hurricane and flood. These catastrophic events are part of God’s natural world. God does not promise that there will be no such calamities, but we are promised that even in our darkest moments, God abides with us! God does not send natural disas-


ters to punish any of God’s children. When any of us cries out in pain and sorrow, God hears our anguish. When we are overcome with despair and woe, God is present with those who are enduring physical, emotional or spiritual pain and suffering. God’s steadfast love is with us. God is also known through the


love of others who come to give help and comfort. The agony and the sad- ness evident in the images of destruc- tion and loss break our hearts as thousands mourn loss of loved ones, destruction of home, and loss of life and livelihood. We experience a ten- derness of heart because at the center of our faith is Christ, who knew human suffering and pain. As we know Jesus, we understand his deep compassion for all of the human fam- ily. His heart was with the poor and the lost.


Family in Christ We who follow Jesus Christ know


Christ calls us to reach out to those who are in need. That is what we ex- pect of one another. When human hearts cry out in woe, we respond with compassion for those who are suffering, because all of us are created and beloved by God, and we are all sisters and brothers in Christ. I now hold in my prayer the col-


leagues and friends in Japan who are living in the chaotic aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. In several visits to Japan, I have met and wor- shipped with many of our Christian sisters and brothers in Christ. I have experienced the evangelistic passion of laypersons, missionaries, pastors


and teachers in Japan laboring tire- lessly to make disciples of Jesus Christ. They reach out in love and offer hope to persons of all faiths, oc- cupations and nationalities, loving all persons as Christ loved us. As a result, churches, schools, hospitals and other ministry settings are connected to all United Methodists and all Christians around the globe because of this shared history. I cannot begin to imagine the dif-


ficult work of rebuilding. My hope is for a generous response of love and prayers and donations as our sign of solidarity and compassion. We can all be grateful and proud that our United Methodist Committee on Relief is al- ready responding and that we United Methodists will be present for the long journey of recovery ahead through UMCOR and through our Christian partners in Japan. In moments such as this, a mes-


sage we offer to all in Japan who face the despair of the moment is for them to turn to God for comfort and reas- surance in all difficult times through Jesus Christ. Remember that God is our refuge, our eternal home! From Eugene Peterson’s The Message comes a statement of our faith that God is “ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake, before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.” (Psalm 46:1-3) Join me in prayer as we ask for


God’s mercy and care in a time of dev- astation, loss and woe. Join me in ask- ing God to give us all generous hearts to respond in love and as we pray for the people of Japan and all others who are in need of God’s grace and our love this day.


Bishop Hoshibata, a third- generation Japanese American, serves the Portland (Ore.) Area of the United Methodist Church.


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