September 23, 2005
Act
We’re mighty quick with the theology when the earth moves. All the sudden, we drag the Bible down off the shelf, dust it off, lay it out as a kind of yard stick, then describe Big Mother wind and rain as of “biblical proportions.” We relegate everything we can’t do anything about to an “act of God.” And then we really hunker down — “All we can do now is pray.”
The insurance companies are around, one might think, to insure. They do, of course. At times like these, they, too, turn to God, and assure us that just because they cover hurricanes, doesn’t mean they cover floods, or vice-versa-read-the-fine-print. As if there’s ever been one without the other.
Interesting how we defer the bad stuff to the Almighty. Maybe it’s because it’s the only time we are forced to concede that God is all mighty. But if Atlas’s shrugging really is an “act” of God, that is, God’s choice, then what’s the use in praying? Do we think God’s going to change her mind?
But then maybe God’s just trying to remind us that the whole Big Shebang — earth moving and all — is an act of God, and that once we get that biblical notion straight, prayer — and especially stewardship — might begin to make some sense, after all.
[Visit Episcopal Relief and Development at http://www.er-d.org/ to make a donation to Katrina Relief or Episcopal Migration Ministries at emm@episcopalchurch.org to volunteer to assist displaced people with housing.]