The Day the Earth Shook
(Posted April 5, 2024)
Just as I sat down to write this week’s E tidings, my house swayed, and the sizable roar of the earthquake that hit this morning set our dog barking and running through the house. Frankly, since we’ve just come through the dark readings of Lent and Good Friday, and since we are on the edge of a near total eclipse of the sun, the following text flowed into my mind:
Isaiah 13:-9-11; 13
See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless…
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.
Lessons From an Earthquake
It’s ironic, isn’t it, that it takes a major geological event to get us to realize that we all share this fragile earth, and it shakes the privileged and the poor alike. Isn’t it strange that it takes an earthquake to shift our focus away from countries shaking with war and politicians lobbing hatred at one another, and over to our common experience of a quaking world?
Wisdom From an Earthquake
There’s a lesson in today, and some wisdom in Isaiah’s words. We need to stop taking an average day with just the usual challenges for granted. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to start every day in gratitude for the possibility it might just be an average day:
A day where we can bestow our respect for the other on those we meet.
A day when we might have the opportunity to share some of the bountiful blessings we’ve been given with some people who live without them.
Shaken Awake
Does it really take an earthquake for God to shake us awake to the possibilities that are standing right in front of us every day?
When we gather this Sunday and share bread and the fruit of the vine, I hope you will find a few moments to be with us and thank God for all the average days we’ve been gifted.