From Tragedy to Hope

Last week, we focused on our spiritual gifts and the way in which each of us is uniquely gifted to be a vessel through which the Presence and Action of the Divine can be revealed in the world.  As we grow in intimate knowledge of the Divine and in recognition of our own deeper truths, these spiritual gifts become more and more obvious and we are freed of the fears and false perceptions that previously prevented us from naming, cultivating and freely sharing these gifts.  It is exciting to discover the gifts of healing, prophecy, discernment, wisdom etc. and if these are revealed to be our gifts, we are invited to share them freely.  At the same time, we must be open to the possibility that the ways in which God will be revealed through us may be in that which we perceive to be our weakness or aspects of ourselves we desire to hide from the rest of the world. 

St. Paul recognized this temptation and reminded the people of Corinth that it is frequently through our perceived weaknesses or "lesser parts" that God desires to be revealed:

As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.  The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you."  Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and the parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.  But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that all parts may have the same concern for one another."     (1 Cor 12: 12-30)

What Paul reminds is that while God is revealed through our "greatness" it is also in our "weaknesses" that the Presence and Action of the Divine may be known.  This brings to mind the devastating tragedy currently facing the people of Haiti, and thereby the people of the world.  The island nation of Haiti represents for those of us in the Western Hemisphere, the poorest of the poor and the most corrupt of the corrupt.  Plagued by government corruption, poverty and hunger, Haiti is a third world nation struggling to survive in the shadow of the so-called free world.  The recent earthquake has plunged this already struggling nation to within inches of their survival.  Hanging by a thread, the vulnerabilities of Haiti are further revealed and we are forced take a look.  No longer can the world turn a blind eye to the devastation experienced by this, our forgotten neighbor. Instead, we are forced to gaze upon the vulnerabilities that we would perhaps prefer to keep hidden.  Poverty exists in our world.  People are hungry and starving.  Tragic deaths do occur.  Material wealth is temporary.  "Progress" does not insulate us from natural disasters.  We need only look at the rubble that Haiti has become to know how vulnerable we truly are. 

Our initial temptation in the face of this devastation is to push it away as something that only happens "to the other guy."  Instead, as Paul reminds, we are invited to look at how God is seeking to be revealed not only in this tragedy, but in the all-too-human vulnerabilities that this tragedy reflects.  To put this in practical terms, something terrible has happened in Haiti, but how can we see the potential for new life in the midst of the death?  How is God working for good in the midst of what we may be tempted to see as only bad?  How are we being challenged to grow in compassion and generosity in the face of the suffering of others?

On a personal level, how does Haiti trigger our resistance to our own vulnerabilities - fear of tragedy, death, devastation, violence and loss? Where has our attachment to perceived surety or security been shaken by these events?  How are we being reminded of the depth of our lack of control?  Where are we being invited to allow God to heal our own fears, false perceptions, prejudice, ignorance and indifference in face of these tragic events? 

As we move together through the tragedy of Haiti and others like it, we have an opportunity for growth - growth in accepting the vulnerabilities of the human condition, growth in learning to accept our lesser parts, growth in being open to how God is revealing God's self through the tragedy and through our own response to it, and finally, growth in the awareness of how we are individually and collectively being called to be a vessel of God's love, peace, comfort and healing in the midst of the good, the bad and the ugly experiences of the human condition. 

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