Dear friends:
The tragedy unfolding in the Texas Hill Country is almost beyond imagining.
The flooding and the devastation, the loss of over 100 precious lives with more unaccounted for, the grief of the parents of the children who could not be saved and the agonizing anxiety of the families who are still searching for the missing seems too much to bear.
For many New Orleanians, these events have triggered traumatic memories of the horrific days of Katrina twenty years ago now. New Orleans knows this pain deep in her soul.
So what are we to do in the midst of such tragedy and suffering? Often our first instinct is to ask “Why?”
“Why does God allow tragedy? Why does God allow the innocent ones to suffer? Why is there pain in the world?”
Perfectly normal questions. Yet, I do believe that these questions the rational mind asks can lead us away from that which we truly seek—answers found only in the heart.
For it is in the heart that we find the true presence of God and the knowing that in our suffering, suffering that will come to every human life without exception, we are not alone. God has not abandoned us. We are being held in God’s infinite grace and mercy.
When God spoke the world into being, God allowed the world to be itself. This necessarily means that the world is imperfect because it is other than God. And an imperfect world will have imperfections like floods and earthquakes and fires and other natural and human-made disasters.
Yet, God will be in the midst. God will be right there in the middle of the muck and the mess, enfolding us in God’s love. The ultimate symbol of God’s presence in the suffering of the world is the cross.
When human beings hung Jesus from the cross, God was there. Present. And, of course, that was not the end of the story.
God took the worst thing that the world could do—the killing of the God-man, and in the power of the Resurrection, transformed it into the best thing. The Apostle Paul captured this when he said:
It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:34-35;38-39
Back to our earlier question. What are we to do in the midst of such tragedy and suffering?
First, we pray. Always.
Pray that God’s nearer presence might be made manifest in the lives of the suffering and the grieving ones and in our own lives as well. Pray that Christ’s healing grace might fill the hearts of those who mourn, those who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and those who are exhausted from anxiety and fear.
Jesus has said to us that he will take up our burdens and give them rest (Matthew 11:28). Pray that the souls of all the dear ones who have been lost in the storm are now rejoicing in the Communion of Saints. Pray that they will rest in peace and rise in glory. Our faith reassures us that this is so.
And then we act. The Diocese of West Texas is providing immediate relief to survivors and first responders. Every dollar you contribute goes directly to those in need.
We can also support Jose Andres’ World Kitchen which is on the ground providing meals and other essentials to survivors and first responders.
Let me close with two prayers. The first is from the Diocese of West Texas:
Instagram: Diocese of West Texas
The second was composed especially for the girls and families of Camp Mystic where the lives of numerous campers and staff have been lost.
As we all struggle to comprehend the pain and the sorrow of this event, may we also know that we and all who grieve are being held in the power of the Resurrection.
A wise person once said, “Everything will be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.”
God’s most abundant blessings to you and all those you love,
Lex
