Notes From Day Seven: Compassion and faith spring into action in the wake of Haiyan
Job is the name of a section of the
Christian (and Jewish) Bible. It reads like a
creative story told to teach a valuable lesson.
The section, known as a “book,” is the story
of a man bearing the same name. Job starts
off well enough — great, actually. But then
disaster strikes. Satan throws lightning bolts,
so to speak, after persuading God to let him.
Job's flocks and herds are destroyed. His
children die. He gets some kind of serious
skin outbreak and his wife starts nagging
him.
He spends a lot of time in monologues arguing with God. Discouraged with the way God is treating him, he gets testy, but doesn't give up on him. For Job, God remains real, a great, just, and caring god, who, if only he will give Job a hearing, should be able to clear up matters and re-establish Job.
It seems that the members of the church in the Philippines are in the same situation. Perhaps they are discouraged that God has allowed their country to be struck by disaster. Still they continue to thank God for the good they can see, and to ask him for the good things they need. According to the website Firstpost, Catholic priest Amadero Alvero was back on the streets of the city of Takloban soon after Haiyan came and went. He was praying for the dead and blessing their corpses. He returned to his half-ruined church, Santo Nino, and led Mass. He said, “Despite what happened, we still believe in God. The church may have been destroyed, but our faith is intact... has not been destroyed.” Job would have liked this.*
Faith and acts of compassion are part of the picture for Christians all over the world — and perhaps also for those who are drawn towards a Christian way of life, those on the permeable edges of the church. Disasters typically incite greater faith as people reach out to help. Faith in a god who teaches us to be compassionate goes hand in glove with acts of compassion. Faith in God and compassion are twin sisters.
Hillsong Church, a modern “megachurch” in Australia, is partnering with World Vision to bring relief to the victims of Haiyan. Brian Houston of Hillsong posted online that World Vision is worthy of the support of its members. He states that the Christian relief organization has 20 emergency response teams from Australia ready for deployment. He wrote, “Our goal is to help 2 million people (400,000 families) with life-saving essentials such as hygiene kits and emergency shelter, as well as ensuring safety and protection for the most vulnerable, especially women and children.”
The worldwide Anglican community is also stepping up to the challenge. For example, Paul Kwong, the Anglican Archbishop of Hong Kong, according to online sourcing, has donated $300,000 HK (over $40,000 CAD) to bring relief to the Philippines.
The Church of Ireland, prominent churches in New York, the United Church of Canada, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, the Salvation Army, The Church of the Nazarene, and countless other church organizations throughout the world are rallying. They are working together, sometimes with each other, often in partnership with governments (the Canadian government matches funds donated to World Vision for the Philippines), and typically with passion and enthusiasm. And everywhere, as with Fr. Alvares in Takloban, there is prayer. Christians around the planet are filling their buildings, agency offices, and homes with prayer for the dead and their surviving family members.
In fact, maybe it's not the twin sisters or compassion and faith. Maybe it's more the triplets: compassion, faith and prayer. They travel together, in bad times and good, but especially in the bad.
*Some of the more thoughtful victims of Typhoon Haiyan might more accurately be discouraged that God has permitted so many of us to build our economies on fossil fuels. A result of burning fossil fuels is the warming of the atmosphere and the consequent strengthening of tropical storms including Haiyan.
Michael Veenema was a chaplain at Fanshawe until 2004. He continues to write, serve as a chaplain in youth corrections, and leads a church or two from his current home in Nova Scotia.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
He spends a lot of time in monologues arguing with God. Discouraged with the way God is treating him, he gets testy, but doesn't give up on him. For Job, God remains real, a great, just, and caring god, who, if only he will give Job a hearing, should be able to clear up matters and re-establish Job.
It seems that the members of the church in the Philippines are in the same situation. Perhaps they are discouraged that God has allowed their country to be struck by disaster. Still they continue to thank God for the good they can see, and to ask him for the good things they need. According to the website Firstpost, Catholic priest Amadero Alvero was back on the streets of the city of Takloban soon after Haiyan came and went. He was praying for the dead and blessing their corpses. He returned to his half-ruined church, Santo Nino, and led Mass. He said, “Despite what happened, we still believe in God. The church may have been destroyed, but our faith is intact... has not been destroyed.” Job would have liked this.*
Faith and acts of compassion are part of the picture for Christians all over the world — and perhaps also for those who are drawn towards a Christian way of life, those on the permeable edges of the church. Disasters typically incite greater faith as people reach out to help. Faith in a god who teaches us to be compassionate goes hand in glove with acts of compassion. Faith in God and compassion are twin sisters.
Hillsong Church, a modern “megachurch” in Australia, is partnering with World Vision to bring relief to the victims of Haiyan. Brian Houston of Hillsong posted online that World Vision is worthy of the support of its members. He states that the Christian relief organization has 20 emergency response teams from Australia ready for deployment. He wrote, “Our goal is to help 2 million people (400,000 families) with life-saving essentials such as hygiene kits and emergency shelter, as well as ensuring safety and protection for the most vulnerable, especially women and children.”
The worldwide Anglican community is also stepping up to the challenge. For example, Paul Kwong, the Anglican Archbishop of Hong Kong, according to online sourcing, has donated $300,000 HK (over $40,000 CAD) to bring relief to the Philippines.
The Church of Ireland, prominent churches in New York, the United Church of Canada, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, the Salvation Army, The Church of the Nazarene, and countless other church organizations throughout the world are rallying. They are working together, sometimes with each other, often in partnership with governments (the Canadian government matches funds donated to World Vision for the Philippines), and typically with passion and enthusiasm. And everywhere, as with Fr. Alvares in Takloban, there is prayer. Christians around the planet are filling their buildings, agency offices, and homes with prayer for the dead and their surviving family members.
In fact, maybe it's not the twin sisters or compassion and faith. Maybe it's more the triplets: compassion, faith and prayer. They travel together, in bad times and good, but especially in the bad.
*Some of the more thoughtful victims of Typhoon Haiyan might more accurately be discouraged that God has permitted so many of us to build our economies on fossil fuels. A result of burning fossil fuels is the warming of the atmosphere and the consequent strengthening of tropical storms including Haiyan.
Michael Veenema was a chaplain at Fanshawe until 2004. He continues to write, serve as a chaplain in youth corrections, and leads a church or two from his current home in Nova Scotia.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
