Haiti

There is so much to say, tears to shed, and prayers to offer for Haiti right now. I have no idea how to comprehend the earthquake and the immense, immense suffering going on right now.

One initiative I came across is http://www.fastforhaiti.com It encourages the Church to fast, pray, and donate to Haiti. Check it out.

A friend sent me a thought-provoking and hopeful blog post, "Why did God allow Haiti's Earthquake?" Also, read the comments that follow, there is some good discussion going on among thoughtful Christians.

I responded to the blog just a few minutes ago with some of my reflections and thoughts in reference to this terrible tragedy:

I really appreciate Dave's blog. With that said- Yesterday I was grappling with the question "why would God would allow the earthquake?"

i went for a walk and was crying out to Him - in anguish for the people of Haiti. I saw a picture of a young girl, 1 yr old, crying out without any parents around. This made me very angry. I have a baby girl myself.

This drives the question deeper than an event like an earthquake? the question to me is about death itself:

"why did God create death?" or "did God create death?"

This recalled to me a passage from the deuterocanonical / apocryphal book, "Wisdom of Solomon:"

"God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might exist, and the creatures of the world are wholesome.... for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it." 1:13,14; 2:23,24

So it seems in some way the devil is involved with all of this...

Is Jesus angry at the earthquake I wonder?

He must be.

Maybe he is inviting us to be warriors with him? To alleviate suffering, injustice, & pain with fierce warrior love.

This is the testimony of the Church in a time like this. We care and will continue to care and to fight back and to be on the streets showing people that there is a God and He sent me to love them.

I've been encountering homeless people and I usually place my hand on their shoulder and in any way possible try to communicate the love of Jesus to them... Its supernatural. The world will forget Haiti soon enough (the political headlines today are already stealing attention), but we won't.
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This Friday I'm going to the March for Life in DC with 100-200 thousand people angry about the 50 million lives terminated in the womb since 1973.

I think Jesus is angry about that too and invites us in all situations, in His Spirit, to battle against evil in all its forms. All the while trusting Him, crying out to Him, and looking forward to the joy set before us in the resurrection of life.

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An addendum to my comment, I just read Peter Kreeft's article on suffering.

I love how he begins:

"To question God's goodness is not just an intellectual experiment. It is rebellion or tears. It is a little child with tears in its eyes looking up at Daddy and weeping, "Why?" This is not merely the philosophers' "why?" Not only does it add the emotion of tears but also it is asked in the context of relationship. It is a question put to the Father, not a question asked in a vacuum..."

Read the full article at http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/suffering.htm I think it sheds light on the Haiti situation.

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Do you have any thoughts on this?

Amazing testimony of disabled young man!

This is really an amazing video, worth seeing. If you have anyone in your life going through suffering or who is physically disabled - this is quite an inspiration. Born with no arms or legs, Nick Vujicic gives an inspiring testimony about overcoming circumstances in one's life.

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God is on the move and is using all sorts of people in their different circumstances in powerful ways to get His message out there! This reminds me of the First Reading today, the Lord Jesus speaks to Paul and says, "Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome" (Acts 23:11). Particularly the phrase "my cause" caught my eye - and made me think about this grand cause, this divine conspiracy that Jesus initiated to destroy sin and death in our lives - and bring us to life, peace, and confidence in Him and His plan for our lives now, and eternally. No matter our circumstances.

Nick's circumstances in the above video - and how he deals with them - and gives glory to God - is really the miracle. And in my own life it seems that it is particularly in those times of suffering where God uses us to broadcast his message of love to the world. A video I watched several months ago called the Megaphone of Hope by Christian speaker Louie Giglio - is all about this. If you have time check it out - it is powerful - and such an integral connection between suffering and evangelization.

Prayer and Honesty and Action

At ChristLife we bought the DVD series NOOMA by a Christian speaker and pastor named Rob Bell. Each video is 10ish minutes long and creatively presents a Christian truth. Sometimes his perspective leaves me asking a few questions - but I am happy that he is making a really good effort at engaging our culture with the God of truth and compassion and mercy and justice.

Thanks to YouTube, below is his latest video, Open. It is a very powerful video on "how prayer works" from Rob's perspective. He grapples with the question of suffering and God's response in a very good way. From the NOOMA Web site:

Many of us have experienced situations where we’ve prayed and it felt like God wasn’t listening. And yet other times we’ve prayed or known someone that prayed and the situation changed. Does God answer prayer? Sometimes, but not all the time? Or does God always answer prayer and it's just that sometimes God says no? Some of us are angry with God for not answering the prayers we’ve prayed for years. Why did he answer their prayer but not ours? What if there’s more to prayer than just God listening and answering? Maybe if we understood how Jesus prayed, our concepts and expectations of prayer would change.

Part I:

Part II:

He hits on some real powerful issues here in this video. Especially when it comes to, like the Psalmist, being honest in our prayer. And in following the book of James in the Bible - about combining our faith with works - and therefore our prayer with action.

This takes me to the new evangelization. Pope John Paul II said it must be new in its ardor, methods, and expression. I think NOOMA is a step in the right direction.

Furthermore, when we consider our prayers for "lost souls" or for "conversion" we are in the same breath - challenged to partner with him in reaching out to the lost - this is evangelization.

Your thoughts? comments?