The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Today's collect is not one that we really want to hear. In fact, most of us
may not even believe the words we heard this morning: Almighty God, you
know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves....That goes
against our desire to believe that we can do anything, that we are the master of
our fate, the captain of our souls. Today, we are hit full in the face with the
truth: we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. Our first
reaction might be to get up and walk out of church. Our second reaction might
remind us of the horrible earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, the mud slides in
California, the avalanches in some of the well-known ski resorts and also in
various other spots in the mountains, the heavy snows that have caused so much
suffering and so many deaths. We might also think of such things as the
explosive devices hidden in roads in Afghanistan and Iran, the human bombers who
come into a hotel lobby or a market swarming with innocent people who are only
going about their business, the drive-by shootings on the streets of our cities,
the home invasions that are becoming more regularly part of the daily news. And
then we can gain an inkling of understanding of the thinking behind this
collect: some things just happen, or happen randomly, and there is simply not
much that we can do about them. It's a sobering thought for us folks in the
twenty-first century, who are so proud of our technological advances and our
abilities to control not only our own lives but the forces of nature. Maybe we
aren't as all-powerful as we had thought!
The collect goes on to say, no, not SAY...but to BEG: Keep us both
outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from
all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which
may assault and hurt the soul... That seems to be a very comprehensive
plea for help and protection, doesn't it?
And think or a moment: who are we begging to protect and preserve us from all
these things? Almighty God, that's who. It is God to whom the prayer is
addressed.
All of which leads us to some interesting questions.
One of these questions, much beloved by atheists and scoffers against
religion, is, of course: Where was God when these things happened?
or, to put it another way, Why does a supposedly good God allow such
things to happen?
Well, the usual answer is that God, having set the world in motion and
established "natural laws" such as gravity, must then allow them to run their
course. Too much water gets into the soil, and it becomes semi-liquid, and
slides out from under us. We build tall buildings in areas that we know are
prone to earthquakes, so why should we be surprised when earthquakes happen and
the buildings fall down? And we know that there are evil people around, people
who thumb their noses at God and his laws, so why should we be surprised when
they ride down the street spraying bullets, or bust into our home some evening
when we're watching TV?
All of which makes considerable sense, but it's no great comfort when we are
the one whose home is buried under tons of mud, or fell down when the earthquake
hit, or when we are the one hit by some of those bullets...and the ensuing
hospital bills. We're good people, we obey God's law, surely, he should have
made an exception and flew in to save us? Isn't that why we obey him in the
first place?
Well, no. These things happen. That was Jesus' answer to the folks who were
angry about Pilate's killing people in the Temple. It was also his answer to the
people who were talking in shocked voices about the tower that fell, killing
quite a few folks. These things happen. In another place, Jesus said something
relevant: The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. These
things happen. The fact that you got wet in the downpour doesn't mean that you
are a bad person or that God doesn't love you. The fact that the tower fell on
your wife and son doesn't mean that they broke God's laws or that God doesn't
care about them. It just means that they were in the wrong place at the wrong
time. These things happen.
Jesus also made it clear that we cannot blame the victim. People get hit by
floods, falling rubble or tons of snow...not because they are bad or lazy or
stupid (although often, you'd think, stupidity is part of choosing a building
site or a vacation spot known to be prone to such disasters), but simply because
they are the victims of circumstances. People can be poor because their own
parents were lousy role models and did not teach them a work ethic. People can
have trouble finding jobs not from laziness, but simply because of the
economy...factories are closing and laying off, not hiring. People can lose
their jobs not from poor work, but because technology has made the work they do
obsolete. There are not a lot of jobs nowadays for skilled carriage makers or
blacksmiths, you know.
But, as we heard in the first lesson, God is aware of our pain and misery.
And he does do something about it. Sometimes he sends someone like Moses to get
us out of there and lead us home. Jesus also was sent to get us out of the
habits of sin, and lead us home to God.
But we still have to do our part. We have to realize that we are not the
center of the world, God is...even if most folks no longer recognize this to be
true. (Do you?) That means that God is not about to put on hold all the natural
laws, the tides and the winds and the law of gravity and the tectonic plates
grinding away under the earth and so on, to come to the rescue of one
individual, or even a lot of individuals. Yes, he loves us all and cares for us
all. But...these things happen. And there are worse things than losing a home or
a family or even dying. Losing even the faith and the desire to call on God
would be a much worse thing. Losing the understanding that God, not us, is in
charge would be a far worse thing. Believing that we are in command of our lives
and the forces of nature would be so much worse that it actually crosses the
border into absurdity.
The bottom line is that we must first truly understand and believe that
we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves, and that God is the
Almighty Lord. And, of course, we need to be aware that these
things do happen. We do need to do our best to cope: not build a house right
under a steep mountain that's prone to avalanches; not choose to live in areas
subject to volcano eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes; resist the temptation to
indulge in such activities as drive-by shooting, jumping a motorcycle across a
chasm and similar activities; and, of course, pay attention to the laws of
nature and, most emphatically, the laws of God. But, even so, these things will
happen, and we need to be aware of that fact. And so, we pray: Almighty
God, we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves ... so, dear Lord, keep us
both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls ...
Amen.
