God Is With Us

Today’s Gospel ends with “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us."  

So many of us think that God is with us and not with them, whoever they are.   How terribly wrong because God is with us all even though many don’t feel that is true especially when disaster occurs such as in Houston or when we lose someone close to us.   Where is God?

There is no easy answer, but a useful one is provided by Kevin O’Neil published in the 2007 book “All Your Waves Swept Over Me: Looking for God in Natural Disasters.” O’Neil said,

“If God is not to be found as the moral agent who freely chooses to inflict punishment by means of natural disasters, where is God to be found in these tragic times?  If we are looking for God in natural disasters, where might we see his face?  I suggest, once again, that the answer lies in the revelation of Jesus Christ.  God’s action is to found not in the destructive power of uncontrollable hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and the like.  Rather, God’s action is found in his life-sustaining presence and in the response of people, a response born of their compassion and solidarity.

…The works of charity and justice that we perform as human beings flow from the creative power of God and witness to God’s presence among us and within us (my emphasis).  The outpouring of assistance to victims of natural disasters, whether viewed by volunteers as collaboration with God or not, is an instance of the justice and love charity of God at work in the world.”

After all, we are the Body of Christ providing the hands and feet and all the rest to do God’s will by helping those experiencing uncontrollable events.  

One more quote from O’Neil that strikes at the heart of the question “Where is God.”   It is: “If we attempt to locate some moral responsibility and culpability for natural disasters, we might look at our tolerance of sinful structures.   Evil, the absence of God and good, is present in systems that oppress people and foster a lack of genuine concern for them, especially the poor and underprivileged.  On the other hand, God and goodness are to be found in the compassionate, loving presence of people and their action for justice.”

God, thy will be done on earth through our love for our neighbors.

Deacon David Pierce