So where is God in all that’s going on in Japan? What does God want me to do about it? How do I respond this morning as I sit in the cottage, over looking a calm sea and breathing in delicious sea air?
Again, I am reminded of God’s response to Job and his friends as they try to make sense of the awful things that have befallen Job. God starts his lecture by asking, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?”, and concludes by saying to Job, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond.”
As a person of faith, I want to respond; not by trying to get it right but by pouring out what resonates with me at the moment. God asks for dialogue, and I’m again reminded of the question, “What does Jesus want me to do?”
Here’s how it went for me this morning. I started by praying for everyone concerned. The list was long, and I felt very removed from it all. But as I continued to sit there, clearing my mind of chatter by repeating the Jesus prayer (“Jesus Christ have mercy upon me”), I was drawn closer to the victims, the workers, the families…. My compassion became more intimate and intense. As I became sadder, I felt closer and closer to God; I was drawn to a deep, deep place inside. God in me.
It was a good place to be, sitting in the sadness with God. With it came a new resolve to reach out to others in need; to do what I can do in my little world to open up the peace of God that passes all understanding to those in my little circle.
Again, I am reminded of God’s response to Job and his friends as they try to make sense of the awful things that have befallen Job. God starts his lecture by asking, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?”, and concludes by saying to Job, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond.”
As a person of faith, I want to respond; not by trying to get it right but by pouring out what resonates with me at the moment. God asks for dialogue, and I’m again reminded of the question, “What does Jesus want me to do?”
Here’s how it went for me this morning. I started by praying for everyone concerned. The list was long, and I felt very removed from it all. But as I continued to sit there, clearing my mind of chatter by repeating the Jesus prayer (“Jesus Christ have mercy upon me”), I was drawn closer to the victims, the workers, the families…. My compassion became more intimate and intense. As I became sadder, I felt closer and closer to God; I was drawn to a deep, deep place inside. God in me.
It was a good place to be, sitting in the sadness with God. With it came a new resolve to reach out to others in need; to do what I can do in my little world to open up the peace of God that passes all understanding to those in my little circle.
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