Where Was God?
Proper 19, Year A
Have you ever wondered where God was when bad things happened? I have. When, and if, I get to heaven, I have a few questions for God: Where were you when my high school sweetheart was killed in a car accident? What were you doing during the mass shootings at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, or Robb Elementary School? Why did you allow the earth quake in Venezuela and the flood in Nepal? Where were you, God, on September 11, 2001?
The Bible contains countless descriptions of God saving, preserving, and providing for people. One of these is in the first reading from the Book of Exodus 14:19-31. God went
…before the Israelite army… and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. …one did not come near the other all night. (Exodus 14:19-20).
God saved the people of Israel from being captured or killed. God hid them with a pillar of cloud by day and guided them with a pillar of fire by night. Later, God fed them with manna and quails. God quenched their thirst with water from a rock. As they journeyed through the wilderness, God fought with them and for them, and God provided a land for them to call home. The Exodus is just one of many biblical examples of God saving, preserving, and providing for people. So, when this does not happen in our lives or in the world, questions arise. What was God thinking or doing? Some, like the fool quoted in Psalm 14:1, decide “there is no God” when bad things happen.
Journalist Bill Moyers wanted to know what God was doing on 9/11. On September 12, 2001 he interviewed James Forbes, his pastor at The Riverside Church and professor at Union Theological Seminary, and Andrew Delbanco, author and professor of humanities at Columbia University, seeking answers to these questions.
Bill Moyers asked Pastor Forbes, “What do you tell people like me when… innocent people have died?” Forbes said, “my response is usually to acknowledge the enormity of emotions…, to have a sober spirit and a reticence to leap to premature solutions…” Next Bill Moyers asked, “Does the God you believe in have a hand in something like this?” Forbes began by quoting from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome: “God makes all things work together for good for those who love God.” (Romans 8:28). Then he said, “God does not will everything, but God wills something out of everything. …We have to ask, how do we take disastrous circumstances and bring something that reflects our character and directs us towards a more constructive future?” (https://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/moyers912.html).
During the interview with Andrew Delbanco, he pointed to the presence of evil on 9/11. Professor Delbanco also pointed out the presence of good. Hundreds of first responders ran bravely toward and up the stairs of burning buildings, while thousands of people ran away. He believed the evil and good acts on that day were reminders. “Human beings have within themselves a great capacity for cruelty and hatred, as well as a great capacity for compassion and goodness. There's a way in which …we (sic.) are at war within ourselves. Maybe our responsibility …is to try to put together and… hold together a society where the best of ourselves can be encouraged, and the worst of ourselves can be suppressed.” (https://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/moyers912.html).
While I wait to meet with God in heaven to ask why bad things to happen, I have resolved to work for, and look for good to come out of each and every situation. I have aligned myself with Paul’s teaching in the second reading, Romans 14:1-12. I strive to honor God in whatever I do. Paul maintained that:
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we belong to God. (Romans 14:7-8).
How do you cope with bad stuff? What are your thoughts and plans on this 25th year after 9/11, this first anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, this 81st year after our country dropped atom bombs on Japan, nearly 3 years after Hamas attacked Israel, and over 400 years after slaves were first transported in shackles to the shores of the land we ‘discovered’ and ‘claimed,’ but was already occupied by native peoples? Are you asking God to give you your daily bread, and voting and volunteering to ensure hungry people can eat? Are you forgiving others as God forgives you? Have you asked God to lead you not into temptation, and deliver you from evil so that you can proclaim God’s glory by building God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? We cannot know whether God causes or allows bad things to happen, but we can take responsibility for how we react and respond to bad things.
On September 11, 2001 and in the days that followed, people in the US and across the world were united in grief, heroes worked tirelessly and selflessly to save people and search for remains, and hundreds of thousands of Americans volunteered to donate blood. In the years that followed, fireman who survived helped parent children of their colleagues who died; medical examiners worked seven days a week to identify remains, and elected officials created the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Twenty-five years after 441 first responders died on 9/11, over 140 of their children have chosen to work as first responders. What choices have you made in the wake of evil? Are you using your God given skills and resources to bring good, God’s good, out of bad situations?
