The End of the World as We Know It: Thoughts About the Earthquake in Japan and Unrest in Egypt and the Middle East

For moths we have been watching as revolutions change the balance of power in Tunisia, Greece and Lybia.  The implications of these revolutions are far-reaching, affecting the United States in many ways.  We have seen gas prices rise at a time when gas prices usually go down.  We fear how this instability will affect our safety and security in the United States.

Yesterday we watched the fires burning out of control in Japan as a tsunami ripped over parts of the country after the largest earthquake on record hit the island.  As I am writing, Kyodo News Agency is reporting more then 9,500 people unaccounted for in Minamisanriku, Japan.  I've followed the Facebook status of a friend and former classmate in Japan, bringing the situation even closer to home.

My students often ask me if I think 2012 is going to happen, a reference to the end of the Mayan calendar and the idea that with the end of the calendar will come the end of the world.  I always reply, "Yes, it will happen.  And so will 2013, and 2014, and so on."  At times we find our selves living in utter fear of the end of the world.  False prophets take worldly disasters and turn them into apocalyptic signs.  They feed off of fear, misquoting Scripture, telling people the end is near.  One of these false prophets blamed the attack on the World Trade Center on homosexuality in the United States, saying God was punishing us for these homosexual acts.  I find it interesting that Jesus spoke at great lengths against divorce and adultery in the Bible, yet these false profits engage in both, yet Jesus never says a word about homosexuality, and they find this to be one of their hot topics!  I am anxious to hear the response of the false prophets to the devastation in Japan!  What reasons will they give for why God did this, and how do they think we should respond?

I for one do not believe that God causes disasters, natural or otherwise.  I believe that God's desire is for us to live faithful and healthy lives.  We are not to live in fear of tomorrow, but in joy for today.  When people suffer, I believe God pains, too.  I also believe that God has expectations of us in the face of tragedy; we are to find these times as a time to renew our faith and our commitment to God.  These are not signs of the end of the world or of the second coming.  When someone tells us that they know when the world is going to end, they are claiming to have wisdom beyond that of the Son of God.  Jesus said “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." (Matthew 24:36)  However, when we see these signs, God calls us to remember to live each day as if it is our last!  What does that mean?  It means to make amends with our enemies and with God.  It means to love God and our neighbor with all our heart and mind and soul.  It means to live for today, without worrying about what tomorrow will bring!


So in the aftermath of the tsunami and earthquake and the unrest in Northern Africa and the Middle East, I challenge you to live not in fear, but in love.  Consider how you can serve those in Japan as they mourn thousands of their citizens' deaths.  Consider how you can bring hope and good news to those around you.  Do not focus on the fear of the unknown tomorrow brings, but on the hope and joy that is in the present.  Live each day as if it were your last, loving as much as you can, giving as much as you can, and worshiping God as much as you can!  Tomorrow will have its own problems.  Live in peace!

The Form of Worship, Isaiah 58:1-9

Isaiah 58 tells about God's people having the form of faith without the function, something that happens all too often, I believe.  The people cry out to God, asking why God does not see or recognize their fasting or acts of righteousness.  God replies with a great voice that their fasting is for their benefit, not God's.  Their fasting leads to quarreling and fighting, as well as to the oppression of others.  The righteous acts of the people are for show, a measure to make themselves feel better about who they think they are.

The story is the same today as it was back then.  Too many people who call themselves Christian have the form of faith and worship without the function.  I've heard it said that this is "Sitting on the premises, not standing on the promises."  There are many who consider themselves Christians because they go to church, but outside of that, we would have no idea that they were Christian.  I remember, for example, coming home from church one Sunday and stopping by the grocery store on the way.  I parked in the back of the lot and walked across to the store.  As I got close to the store, I came across two women in different cars fighting for the same parking spot.  Both women were dressed to the nines, looking like they were coming from church.  One had a huge Bible on her dashboard, the other with a plastic Jesus on the dash board and a "Honk if You Love Jesus" bumper sticker.  They were honking and shaking fists at each other.  I went into the crowded store, waited in a long line to pay for my loaf of bread, and came back out maybe 15 minutes later, only to find the two women still fighting over the same spot!  The weather was perfect, the parking lot was not completely full, and they could have already both been parked and in the store shopping if they were not fighting over the spot.  They had the form of faith (the Bible, plastic Jesus, bumper sticker, and having come from church), but they sure did not have the function!  There was no love of neighbor in the interaction.  There was no turning the other cheek or giving of one's coat or cloak.  There were 2 self-centered women who felt entitled to a decent parking space.

There are many threats to Christianity today.  I've heard people speak of Islam being the biggest threat to the Christian faith, while others have said it is homosexuality, and still others abortion.  However, the biggest threat to Christianity today is none of these external forces.  If any external force were to be a threat to Christianity, it would only be because the greatest threat had already played out.  This greatest threat to Christianity is those who call themselves Christian while not living that calling!  Those who are quick to condemn others, those who turn their backs on the needy, those who do not love God and neighbor, those who are sitting on the premises!  For Christianity to flourish, we must return to standing on the promises!  Worship is the starting point, not the focal point.  Worship is where we hear what God wants so when we leave we can do God's will.

So where are you?  What will you do to live your faith?  God is not looking for a good show.  God is looking for action.  Do not be like the people of Israel which Isaiah spoke to.  They thought God would look favorably upon them for their worship.  While God does want us to worship, God also wants us to live that worship.  Thanks be to God!