Tsunami - A Challenge to Faith?

MP3 - 'Tsunami' (Click Here)

In 1755, off the coast of Portugal, an earthquake thought to have measured around 9.0 on the Richter Scale caused a tsunami.  Up to 100,000 people were subsequently killed, mostly in a fire that ravaged Lisbon.  This event led enlightened thinkers to continue their efforts to reconcile the traditional idea of a controlling, benevolent God with the evidence of naturally caused destruction and death before them.

For us, the very similar question arises.  How can the idea of a God of Love remain true in the face of natural destruction and devastation as we have seen in Japan this week?  The earthquake and subsequent tsunami there have left at least 17,000 people either dead or missing.  Live and livelihoods destroyed; families devastated; children, young and old, losing their parents; parents losing their children, young and old.  It will take months, years, perhaps decades to recover the area.  A scene from Hell itself.

Why do these things happen?  Unitarianism is a movement that commends itself on valuing the goodness of the world around us, of the way in which we can all work together to make a better world.  And yet there is nothing we can do to stop such destruction and devastation. 

How can we explain natural evil, for that is surely the best description for an event that wrecks so many lives?  Do we need to?  Surely it is our response to tragedy that is of far greater importance than any theological tussle.

The work of national and international rescue teams, and the willing donations of millions around the globe are an indication of the positive ways in which we might react to tragedy.  This does not mean the earthquake was caused by a God looking to test our goodness or, even worse, to punish the victims.  The Earth is a volatile and at times unpredictable entity; things happen.  We should not focus on the possibility of any supernatural causation; rather we should focus on the need for love and support to those that suffered.  That is how we might express our values of compassion, and how we might act as a good neighbour.

Might the Japanese earthquake lead us to consider afresh the role, or even the definition, of a good God?

These are the issues we considered in our sermon this Sunday, available to hear by clicking the link above.

Forty Days To Save The World

MP3 - 'Forty Days' (Click Here)

This Wednesday, 09 March, marks the first day of Lent.  Lent is a time when many people attempt to give up something for forty days (chocolate, coffee, biscuits, whatever) in order to prove we can 'be good'.  In a religious context, I wonder whether the approach misses the opportunity Lent provides to make more substantial changes to our lives.  This is an opportunity open to all people, religious or not, and is the refreshment we need for our souls.  For Unitarians and others, it might be seen as an opportunity to remind ourselves of the need to focus on right living, with ourselves and with our neighbours.

Lent.  Forty days in which to try and change our lives for the better; to overcome the temptations that lead us astray once and for all. 

In Christian practice, the forty days of Lent are drawn from the passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke where Jesus sets out into the wilderness.  This is shortly after he has been baptised by John and, according to Biblical accounts, the spirit of God has descended upon him.  The Gospel writers are trying to convey the heavy burden of responsibility that Jesus has recognised nows weighs upon him, and his attempts to come to terms with it.

In traditional biblical translations, Jesus wards off temptations by demons and the Devil in order to prove his devotion to God; in modern times this can be hard to identify with.  However, in his radical retelling of the story in 'Good as New', John Henson shows how these temptations and images might be formed in the mind of a man who has spent six weeks alone and without food, rather than by some external gang of supernatural tempters; Jesus is grappling with his own mind and purpose.

And Lent is a period of preparation leading to Easter, a time when we look for the eternal hope of good overturning bad.  Lent might finish after forty days, but perhaps we might look at the hope of maintaining our self-improvement beyond that short timescale.  Perhaps we can use this time to grapple with our own approach and purpose in life.  

Lent is an opportunity to grapple with our inner failings.  This does not have to be seen as a fight with the Devil, an evil outsider that is tempting us to do wrong.  This is a battle with our inner selves, our own consciences.  With our false pride, with our gluttony, with our self-deception.  This is an annual reminder to try and wipe the slate clean.

By changing ourselves for the better, we might take a small step towards changing the world for the better.  We might bring hope.  

We have Forty Days to save the World!

Click the link at the top of this post to hear the more full sermon on this topic.