"Where Is God In All of This?"

 

Acts 9:1-9     John 21:1-7a

 

      It has been a very emotional week.  Beginning Monday morning when we heard the news about what was taking place on the Virginia Tech campus we were concerned for the safety of the people we knew.  We were then relieved to find out that they were safe and out of harm's way.  We then felt sorry for those who lost friends and loved ones and also a little twinge of guilt for feeling happy that those we knew were safe while others were dealing with sadness and grief.   There have been feelings of numbness and anger.  One moment we were trying to understand how something like this could happen, the next moment we were wondering who to blame.

 

       We learned we are a resilient people.  It does not take long after something like this for us to get our lives back on track.  At least for the majority of us.  For those people who were directly impacted Monday has changed their lives forever. 

 

        Monday reminded many of us of Columbine.  Ten years ago if I had said Columbine no one would have known what I was talking about.  Today it is just like saying nine/eleven.  Our daughter, Kristy, who lives in Colorado, has a sister-in-law who was teaching at Columbine when the shootings took place.  She taught German and one of the shooters was one of her students.  She got out of the school that day by climbing through one of the ceiling tiles in a restroom.  That day changed her life.  Whenever she hears a loud noise now she jumps in fear.  She no longer teaches at Columbine.  I have heard that the entire faculty has turned over since that tragic day. 

 

         I was thinking of her as they had the service at Virginia Tech on Tuesday.  They were shouting the Hokie cheer.  I think part of what they were trying to say is that life will go on at Virginia Tech.  This act of evil will not defeat us.  That is a brave sentiment.  And life will go on at Virginia Tech, but it will be different.  Many lives will be changed because of what happened. 

 

         Monday also made me think of one of the most difficult nights I spent in ministry.  We got a call about midnight.  It was from a family whose son was killed in a car accident.  He was on his way back to Western Kentucky University, driving his pick up truck, and hit a rescue squad head on.  It was an experience that changed everyone in his family, not just for a day or two but for the rest of their lives.  Some drew closer to God, others were driven farther away. Alcohol became an issue for some. It put a strain on every relationship. 

 

         The question we are called to deal with as a worshiping community is where is God in all this.  The place we look for answers is scripture.  And what do we find there.  We find a Jewish man who had been persecuting Christians.  His name was Saul.  He was breathing threats and murder against the people of the way.  He was confronted by the Risen Jesus.  He wasn't looking for God but God came to him.  After being struck blind and regaining his sight, he submitted to baptism and became the greatest champion of The Way.   

 

         We find a group of disciples who are grieving over the loss of their friend Jesus who had been hung on a cross.  They thought he was the Messiah but now he was dead.  They decided to do what they do best, go fishing.  They fished all night and caught nothing which probably made them even more depressed.  And then they were confronted by someone they didn't recognize who told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.  So they did and all of a sudden they had so many fish they were not able to haul in the net.  And then they recognized who it was.  They had been empty and like the net full of fish he made them full.

 

        Paul Scherer, in a sermon on the Acts 9 passage, made this comment, "It isn't so much a question of believing or not believing: in the Bible you run the risk of meeting God."  Paul and the disciples met God.  Both Paul and the disciples thought they knew God.  What they discovered was that what they believed about God was very different from the truth.  A tragic event like Monday makes us rethink what we believe about God and the ways that God is active in our lives.  Most often God is not active in the ways that we want God to be.  God does not protect us from all harm.  God doesn't put a barrier around our children and protect them from evil.  God does not make our way easy.  What does God do?   

 

        The Psalmist wrote, "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness."  God changes lives.  It may happen when we least expect it.  One of the things I hope for people who go through tragic situations is that when God confronts them will respond like Paul and like the disciples.  They will open up their lives to the healing and the peace that can only come from God.  They will not give in to evil and death but choose to live their lives in ways that demonstrate their trust in God's love and power.

 

        The good news is that the future belongs to God.  Our future is in God's hands.  The future of our children is in God's hands.  We could not be in a better place.