Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: January 2005

On television, in newspapers and on the web, images of the tsunami in South East Asia abound. Some are traumatic, showing the depths of human suffering. Some are portentous, showing the mighty wave as it gathered its strength before striking. Still others are deceptively calm, showing blue and tranquil seas once more. However, of all the images, both still and moving, perhaps the most troubling of all is the humble question mark.

In the light of this international calamity, questions abound. Scientists can answer the "how" question relatively easily, pointing to the cruelly simple mechanics of plate tectonics. Hopefully, they can also answer the question as to 'when' it might happen again. However, the hardest question of all is 'why'. Why did this happen just as the sounds of rejoicing at the birth of Jesus Christ faded away. Why did this happen to some of the world's poorest people, whose flimsy homes were so easily washed away. Christians who believe in the sovereignty of God cannot 'let Him off the hook' by saying that it had nothing to do with Him - he is either sovereign or he is not. Equally, they have to acknowledge that their view of him as both good and sovereign is challenged by these events. If he could influence these events and chose not to - why?

Reeling from their confrontation with this fundamental question, they are left asking 'what now'? For the Christian there is only one possible answer to that question if they are to remain as authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. We go on believing, that is what now. Those who feel that such a response is callous and unthinking should look to the Christian believers in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. If they can gather in half empty churches where the majority of the women and children have been washed away, still finding it in their hearts to love and praise God, who are we as Western observers to do any less? As long as they hold onto faith, we do not have the luxury of letting it go.

The remaining question is then 'what about me'? Each of us with resources at our disposal needs to ask how we can share them with those worst affected by this disaster. For most it will be by donating money to the DEC appeal, whilst for a few it will mean going to the disaster zone and using their professional skills. I believe that as much as God was lost from sight in these events, He will be found again in our response to them. Already there are stories circulating of touching and glorious acts of humanity in the midst of the suffering. God who made the seas and the earth beneath them also makes the man who plunges into the waves to rescue a drowning child, or the woman who halves her tiny supply of rice with her neighbour.

Whatever your questions, make sure that you supply some answers through your actions.