Proverbs 17:28
Plenty has been said about a popular television preacher's recent comments about the tragedy in Haiti. For the record, I would simply underscore my understanding that earthquakes are a part of the order of this world -- a reminder that the forces of nature are beyond our control. For for all of our "progress" as humans, we are helpless when the earth shakes beneath our feet and lays waste to whole cities.
When I am confronted by the pictures from Haiti, I am powerfully reminded, once again, that human life is a fragile mystery -- to be nurtured, treasured and received as the gift it is. I pray for those who have lost loved ones in Haiti. I also pray for those who will attempt to survive the difficult aftermath of living in such a challenging environment with not enough food or water and the ever-present threat of disease, let alone the economic impact upon one of the poorest of this planet's nations. I will pray for and monetarily support those organizations that are scrambling to get much needed aid to a country that is reeling in shock and grief.
What is not helpful is to begin to postulate about the idea of an earthquake as some sort of "divine retribution". Any attempt to speak on behalf of God, or to suggest that one can know the mind of God, or to theorize that God kills people to prove a point is, to be blunt, somewhere between unmitigated ignorance and uninformed arrogance. Beyond the utter insensitivity of such comments lies a much more unsettling reality -- that the preacher can say such things because he knows enough people who agree with him to keep his revenue stream flowing along unabated. As a Christian, I am ashamed that this preacher, by virtue of owning his own broadcasting network, can take to the airways, spew out whatever he pleases and pass it off as "the word of the Lord".
In the meantime, there are plenty of other followers of Jesus who are working to feed the hungry, bring water to the thirsty and shelter those left homeless as a result of this disaster. There were also plenty of Jesus followers who died in the earthquake, because they were already in Haiti doing such work. This is the work Christians do, spreading the Good News of the Gospel in word and deed. Unlike television preachers, most rank and file Christians like these don't have time for preaching sermons, they're too busy living them.
I suppose the television preacher is sincere in his beliefs (and that in and of itself is disturbing!). I simply wish he would have kept them to himself. But, his unreflective comments have called to mind one of the memory verses from my childhood. And since I know that all preachers (including me) can have a tendency to run on at the mouth, I've found myself requoting the verse today as my own mantra: "Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed, a man of understanding." I only wish the TV preacher had read this one before he opened his mouth the other day.
Plenty has been said about a popular television preacher's recent comments about the tragedy in Haiti. For the record, I would simply underscore my understanding that earthquakes are a part of the order of this world -- a reminder that the forces of nature are beyond our control. For for all of our "progress" as humans, we are helpless when the earth shakes beneath our feet and lays waste to whole cities.
When I am confronted by the pictures from Haiti, I am powerfully reminded, once again, that human life is a fragile mystery -- to be nurtured, treasured and received as the gift it is. I pray for those who have lost loved ones in Haiti. I also pray for those who will attempt to survive the difficult aftermath of living in such a challenging environment with not enough food or water and the ever-present threat of disease, let alone the economic impact upon one of the poorest of this planet's nations. I will pray for and monetarily support those organizations that are scrambling to get much needed aid to a country that is reeling in shock and grief.
What is not helpful is to begin to postulate about the idea of an earthquake as some sort of "divine retribution". Any attempt to speak on behalf of God, or to suggest that one can know the mind of God, or to theorize that God kills people to prove a point is, to be blunt, somewhere between unmitigated ignorance and uninformed arrogance. Beyond the utter insensitivity of such comments lies a much more unsettling reality -- that the preacher can say such things because he knows enough people who agree with him to keep his revenue stream flowing along unabated. As a Christian, I am ashamed that this preacher, by virtue of owning his own broadcasting network, can take to the airways, spew out whatever he pleases and pass it off as "the word of the Lord".
In the meantime, there are plenty of other followers of Jesus who are working to feed the hungry, bring water to the thirsty and shelter those left homeless as a result of this disaster. There were also plenty of Jesus followers who died in the earthquake, because they were already in Haiti doing such work. This is the work Christians do, spreading the Good News of the Gospel in word and deed. Unlike television preachers, most rank and file Christians like these don't have time for preaching sermons, they're too busy living them.
I suppose the television preacher is sincere in his beliefs (and that in and of itself is disturbing!). I simply wish he would have kept them to himself. But, his unreflective comments have called to mind one of the memory verses from my childhood. And since I know that all preachers (including me) can have a tendency to run on at the mouth, I've found myself requoting the verse today as my own mantra: "Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed, a man of understanding." I only wish the TV preacher had read this one before he opened his mouth the other day.
posted by FrGaryB | 2:55 PM
2 Comments:
Well said Gary. I am incredulous at "the preacher's" assessment of the situation and ignorant comments.
Well said Gary. I am incredulous at "the preacher's" assessment of the situation and ignorant comments.
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