St John the Evangelist
Fr John's Letter
February 2009
Haiti – where was God?
As I write this, more statistics on an almost unimaginable scale, are coming in of deaths and injuries resulting from the earthquake that has devastated the Caribbean republic of Haiti in the past few days. As images of the disaster have appeared on our TV screens and newspapers, people are inevitably asking: Where was God in all this? And other questions have followed: If God is supposed to be ‘all merciful’ and ‘all powerful’, how could he allow such horrific suffering to happen to so many thousands of people, ‘innocent’ children among them?
We, who claim to believe in a God of love, should not try to ‘buck’ questions like this. These questions come, not just from cynics who are trying to catch us out, or discredit our faith. They are being asked by honest, enquiring people looking for some ‘reason’ for such a catastrophe.
In facing up to these questions, it is important that we take them seriously, and offer any answers with humility and compassion. But the answers that some people have offered are not adequate; they are what I would call ‘cop-out’ answers. It just will not do to say: “Oh, well, this must be God’s will, and one day we will understand.” Could it possibly be that God ‘willed’ that scale 7.0 earthquake to strike Haiti on the afternoon of 13 January? Could that be the action of a God who we believe is a God of love?
I believe we must firmly reject such a simplistic answer, that God ‘caused’ this earthquake to hit Haiti. Such a God is not the God who showed himself to us in the life and death of Jesus. Part of the problem when we face such hard questions is our confusion over what we mean when we talk of God as ‘all-powerful’. This does not mean that God is some capricious despot who can throw his weight around, and wreak havoc in the world just because he feels like it.
When we speak of God as ‘all-powerful’, what that means is that God is the source of all possibilities – but he cannot and does not act contrary to the laws of nature that he has set in the first place. God cannot act like some irrational, irresponsible force.
God is subject to the laws of the universe he has created. And within that universe accidents and disasters can and do happen, and when they do, God suffers with all who suffer.
So where was God in the Haiti disaster? The more thoughtful answer is surely that God was and continues to be with all the victims, those who have died, those maimed and injured, and those who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihood. God is also present in those who are coming to Haiti’s aid; and he is also at work, moving the hearts of millions across the world to respond to the appeal for money to help rebuild this shattered nation. Please give generously to the NEC appeal or the Christian Aid appeal, or any other appeal that you have access to.
PCC elections
Our Annual Parish Meeting takes place on Sunday 18 April, immediately after the 10am Parish Eucharist. At this meeting we elect parishioners to our Parish Council (and re-elect any on the existing PCC who are eligible for re-election and willing to stand).
With so many new members in the Parish over recent years, I hope that some will be willing to share in the life of the Parish by serving on its decision-making council. As a result of the work our existing PCC has done in looking closely at the way we work, it is essential that every member standing for the PCC is willing to take responsibility for one of the portfolios of the council, and oversee the work of one of the ‘action groups’ related to that portfolio.
If you would like to think about contributing to the work of the Parish in this way, do please have a word with one of the Churchwardens or with me to find out what’s involved in this role. But we’re not leaving it entirely up to people to come forward; you may well find yourself approached and invited to think about it. Lay leadership is one of the significant elements of Anglican Parish life and it is important that it is truly representative of the parish community. Is God calling you to serve in this way?
God bless and keep you all,Fr John
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