A supplement to the Newsletter.
All of a sudden the world seems to have become a place in which to look out for ourselves and for our children more than we have in the past.
First, we heard that two children were missing from a town we may not heard of before, then parents, police and everyone else were fearing the worst; bodies were found, arrests were made, buildings were searched, two locals were charged with murder and the police confirmed that the bodies were those of Holly and Jessica.
The story has been told in headlines by Newspapers, TV news reports and police statements and we have all found it difficult to find the right words of sympathy.
August used to be the month known as the silly season because little happened and reporters had to look for daft stories to fill their pages. There has been nothing 'silly' about news during this August.
Everyone has questions, which will not go away. Questions for which it is difficult to put the right words together and make anything like an answer. How could this have happened yet again? Where is God in all this? Simplistic statements about a God of of love in what feels like a world of pain and anger do not seem to be appropriate.
If we believe that life is meant to be pleasant and wonderful, then we have allowed ourselves to be misled. Life is not the great experience we had hoped it would be. Don't get me wrong - sometimes life can be very sweet - when you have good health, when on holiday, seeing a sunset, seeing a baby's smile, receiving a present, when your team wins. There is much that is good about people. But we know that life can be so very different. Good people die before their time while bad people live well. Some have the odds stacked against them, others go from one crisis to another and many have no experience of what is called 'good luck'.
It is going to be difficult to get by in a world like ours without faith. I do not mean a faith that is over pious and soppy. When I talk about faith, I have in mind a faith that demands answers of God, a strong and robust faith that is not slow to give God an earache and ask him what he is doing when children are taken, abused and murdered. If there are no answers, people who possess this type of faith ask again.
I do not mean that questions are to be motivated by doubt, atheism or rudeness. But I do believe that it is proper to interrogate God when you are trying to make sense of the dreadful things that may take place either in your own life or in the lives of others.
You may wonder where you can find a faith like this and if it possible to have faith of any kind in the face of evil and still be on talking terms with God? Yes, it is possible.
You will find such a robust faith fully described and commended in The Bible. For example, look up Psalm 44 in the Old Testament. This is a psalm, which has been written especially for hurting people to use and read should it become necessary. Those who wrote the Bible knew all about how harsh life could become.
The first part of Psalm 44 is a celebration of Gods goodness in the past; but that was the past, now is different. From verse 9 onwards, the language changes. Complaints are made. Questions are asked. Where is God? Has he left us? Is he asleep? Is he bothered? Is he on holiday? The language is terse and abrupt. The questions are demanding and answers are required. The person who wrote these words knew what it was to experience a bad quality of life. The author demands fairness and cries out for justice and retribution.
But notice that the psalms demands are not made of an unbeliever. The last words are about hoping for answers that will be forthcoming and for the return of good times.
Psalm 44 is like the rage language of those who experienced the holocaust. Psalm 44 may also be the protest cries of parents who have been robbed of their children. This psalm, and others like it, give hurting people a voice. It seems to me that the psalm contains appropriate religious language for today by asking the same questions we hear people ask at the bus-stop and along the street and wherever people meet together. Parents are confused about the world in which their children are growing up. God must wake up and get a grip. God must look after people (especially the young, the vulnerable and the elderly). God needs to listen to the questions and come up with the answers! Remember that Jesus himself asked similar questions in the garden early on ‘Good Friday’. If Jesus used terse protesting words on God (from Psalm 22), so too can we.
We need to be honest and acknowledge that nothing prepares us for the shock of the unexpected. However, this is how you can discover and keep a supportive and robust faith that will be a resource in hard times; it is by asking. When life is going well for you, when you enjoy good health and when all who you love are safe and secure, use that time to think deeply and prepare for hard times, talk to God about these things and make him your friend. Ask for the gift of faith. Read something that will help you forward. Read the Gospel of Mark in the Bible all the way through in order to become familiar with what Jesus said and did. Order from the library or from a local bookshop, two very helpful books both by Philip Yancey that I recommend;
Where is God when it hurts?
And
Disappointment with God: Questions no one asks aloud.
Both books are available from St. Mary’s Church bookstall, which is open every Sunday morning.
Hold onto your faith. If your faith has recently taken a knock, make sure that you now ask God to give you a renewed and robust faith that will stand the test of time.
Vicar of St Mary's Church, Summertown
September 2002