For every one who exalts himself will be
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
"Why did this happen?"
A fellow told me recently, "I understand war; I understand street violence; I don't understand why a young man should die of cancer. It makes no sense."
It was all he could do not to break down and sob as he stopped me in stairwell, on his way to the parking lot. He didn't expect an explanation nor could I offer one.
The spark of the divine which glows within the greatest and the least of us wants to know "Why does this happen?" Created in God's image, we have a god-like ability to ask questions. But not to answer them. It makes as much sense as a concussion. If my brain was twice or thrice as big I would still not understand.
Does anyone understand the Grand Canyon, or the Milky Way, or the birth of a child?
What is too sublime for you, seek not; into things beyond your strength search not.In the last few centuries we have been dazzled by our own technological marvels. Hardly a day goes by when we're not astonished by some new, astonishing gimmick. I read the other day some fellow seriously thinks we can build pneumatic tubes -- like the ones used in 19th century cities to send letters; and old hospitals,to shoot memos from one ward to another; and today's banks, to deliver checks and cash from car to teller -- to rocket people from San Diego to New York City in two or three hours. "All aboard!"
But for all those illnesses cured and gadgets created and mysteries solved, we'll never understand sin or death or evil. Because we are God-like, we know we deserve better; death is beneath our dignity and sin is a grave insult. They happen anyway.
In today's gospel Jesus urges us to prepare for that Grand Comeuppance by taking the last seat at the banquet, sitting in the middle of the pew, and requesting the last seat in the airplane. These simple gestures prepare us for the Inexplicably Unavoidable.
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| from the Ferris Wheel at the Ky State Fair |
I'm sorry your friend died. May he rest in peace.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.