The Bungee Cord 10-4-22

Hello,

There are times in life when we are reminded how small and weak we are. This past week has been one of those times as the hurricane roared through Florida leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. The videos of homes that were torn apart as if they were made out of toothpicks, of homes that were picked up off of their foundation and moved a half a block from where they were sitting, and of trees lying down across the road as if they were railroad ties are all clear pictures of how powerful nature can be and how weak we are in the face of its fury.

When I listen to the news, folks often seem shocked by the rampage of the storm. Shocked that all that they had was swept away in a few minutes. Shocked that the strongest buildings that they built put up such a weak fight against the wind and the waves. Shocked that people died at the hands of an event of weather.

Of course there are many other emotions that erupt when such hurricanes and their like descend upon the earth: despair, fear, hopelessness, anger, confusion, and grief. However the one emotion that I find intriguing is shock. Why are people shocked?

Not claiming to be a sociology scholar, it seems to me that people are shocked because they are surprised. We all have a way of honing in on the signs of our power and might: tackling viruses that once were deadly, harnessing mighty rivers with dams that generate electricity, working hard at our jobs and making a stable life, building weapons that bring our enemies to their knees….we really are quite powerful. And when we focus on the power of our hands and minds we can find ourselves lulled into thinking we are safe.

And that’s when shock hit us. We are shocked that we are not safe; woken up from our slumber of safety that our power has brought to us. We are met face to face with the shocking reality of the massive power that lurks around us, power that seems to slumber itself and when it wakes it wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, cranky and hostile, bullying its way into the world and into our lives.

After seeing the demolition that the hurricane has wrought, I have to say that I find myself not feeling shock but awe. For whatever reason, I have always slept uneasily as the lullaby of our power lilts in my ears. I am not so restless that I, like those whose restlessness paralyses them in fear, do not venture out into the jungle of life, but I do find myself always reminded of my smallness. I, like Martin Luther, see my smallness when the wind takes a dried leaf across my path. I look to the skies and with telescopic clarity see how small I am in this universe. I see how aggressors half way across the world can change the course of my life by their thirst for power. I see the unleashed fury of a hurricane. I am well aware of the powers that daily swirl around me, and their might causes me to stand in awe of them.

But as I stand in awe of them, I also find myself filled with awe in one whose power makes them all seem merely as mice. I am filled in awe of the one whose power is so massive that that one stood face to face with all those other powers, including hurricanes, and has ripped me from their grasp and has enfolded me in his embrace. When the incarnate God hung on the cross on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning, God overpowered every power that would try to stake it’s claim on me…or you. “You can’t have this one,” said God speaking of you and me, “This one is mine!” As I hear God’s stubborn proclamation, the proclamation of the one who created the universe and holds it together, to all the powers that be, and I rest in God’s embrace I find myself feeling safe.

Safe. Truly safe. Now and forever.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Like

Comment

Share