“Why did this happen? What’s going on in this world? Has God forgotten me? Is it because of our sins? Is it a gift from God? Does He work evil out for my good?"
There's a feeling of helplessness that occurs when bad things happen to those around you. You want to do something...but you aren't really sure what to do. Some give money, some give items, others serve. What can Higher Things do? We did some theology.
With heavy hearts, we put before you this online collection of Hurricane Katrina Articles. We enlisted some of our writers to reflect upon suffering - some submissions we received from their blogs and others they wrote for us. We hope these meditations and sermons provide comfort to those who are suffering in this world – whether because of Hurricane Katrina or by the cares that happen to us in this fallen world.
May these articles be a gift to you. INI.
Rev. George F. Borghardt III
Higher Things, Internet Services Executive
September, 2005
For several weeks now the images have been ashing across our television sets, have been seen on the front pages of our newspapers, and are now emblazoned on our minds. Devastation. Flood. Fires. Dire need. Looting. Violence. Death. All this in the wake of just one storm, a storm named Katrina.
You’ve seen the reports on television. At first, reporters believed that New Orleans had escaped what could have been a much more devastating disaster. Then the levees broke. Eighty percent of the thriving city was flooded. Buildings were destroyed. Homes were destroyed. Thousands of people have perished in the disaster, and many more died in the hospitals. Churches were destroyed. Many faithful congregations will evermore be scattered to different parts of the country.
Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to pray, “Dear Father, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Actually, the prayer He taught US to pray begins this way, “OUR Father, Who art in heaven.” Joy that cannot be contained! Jesus rescues us today from running off by ourselves and doing our own isolated little religion for our own sake -- “You and me, Jesus, that's all we need!” Oh, no! The Lord teaches us in the Gospel today about His Body, His Fullness, His Bride, His people, the ones He came to die for, rise for, ascend for, and come again for. The Lord Jesus today tells us what it means to be His Church.
In the name of Jesus. Amen. Beloved in the Lord, in Christ Jesus you are a child of God, heaven is yours, even if you have lost everything. Right now, this morning, all that Christ deserved with His holy life and innocent suffering and death is already yours. No matter what else seems true about you, right now this morning heaven is yours.
Where can you find the glory of God in a hurricane? Some might say that if God caused the hurricane to happen the glory of God might be found in the massive destruction brought on by the hurricane. “What an awesome God we have! Just look what He can do when He puts His mind to it! Can you imagine what kind of destruction He could bring about if He were really angry?”
A storm has brewed and struck the Golf Coast, a storm called Katrina. This storm destroyed everything in its path and has caused problems that compound each day. Katrina is God's Judgment and it has been poured out on sinners. God sent Katrina, He sent the rain.
The earth, wind and wave, lava and plates, were not meant to be violent. They were not violent at first. At first, they were good. Earth was peaceful. But the earth, even to the point of rock and fur, streams and mountains, and all the universe, the planets, comets, and stars, are corrupt. Thermodynamics began when Adam left order for chaos and chose to choose his own way. Now the rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous farmer alike. Or it doesn't fall on either. Or it comes in waves that wash away not only the crops but also house and home. But it comes always on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. Because the rain doesn't care.
I find myself watching more television than usual these days. Especially in the morning after my early morning walk. I'm looking for some good news - that New Orleans really isn't all under water after all, that it's all a very bad dream. I did the same after 9/11. That disaster was caused by bad religion and people who believe it. Hurricane Katrina was caused by the mixture of moisture and air. "Natural causes," as we like to say. "Acts of God," as the insurance companies put it when they don't want to pay up.
Imagine hurriedly packing what stuff you could into the car and just leaving your home, your job, your friends, your life. Picture yourself riding down the road, unsure of where you are going, or when, how or even IF you would ever return…yet knowing that even if you did, life from that moment on would never be the same. Waking up in a strange place with strange people around you, watching things happen around you from the fringes of life...it all feels very surreal.