With the pandemic hitting the land and doing its worst to the humankind, especially in our nation, the very question that strikes our attention is, “where is God?” This is not yet another message to simply boost you up saying, “Don’t worry. God will work out good out of everything. We just need to trust him.” No, this is not that traditional type of message. This is an attempt to make some sense to understand God’s heart in this serious crisis.
What we read about God in the Bible is not simply about His Omnipotence and Omniscience but also His identification with the humanity to the very extremes. The story of Jesus is the story of God becoming human and dwelling among us. Let’s try to see God within the story of Jesus, especially in Jesus on the cross.
Where do we find him? He’s out there lying in the manger because there was no “rooms and beds” left for him. He’s out there weeping at the tomb of Lazarus who happened to die because of sickness. He couldn’t tolerate the death of his beloved ones. When he heard his cousin John the Baptist murdered, he couldn’t stand in the society making merry. Bad things happening with humans hurt him to the bottoms. He’s out there on the cross, afflicted, rejected, experiencing the worst of human agony. He’s there feeling the extremes of suffering. He felt as if he was rejected by God but people ridiculed it. He felt thirsty but no one to quench it. He cried out in great pain and agony with no one to answer it. When he suffered being righteous, people suspected him of sin and wrongdoing. There was no one out there with him to help him out. He was isolated and feeling hard to breath. When he died, he would have been eaten by beasts and birds if he hadn’t been buried (as happened with crucified ones). Someone has to request the official government to get his body for burial.
He did not simply die for us. He died with us. He shared in our extremes of suffering. He manifested His divine power by identifying with the most powerless ones. He knows what it means to experience the consequences of the biased decisions made by the powerful officials. It is not that he suffered in his humanity but God wished to express Himself through this weak and fragile humanity. He shared in our pains, agonies, hopelessness.
God is there, out there weeping at the tombs of the diseased ones along with the bereaved family. He is out there sharing in the isolation and ventilation. He’s out there experiencing the hunger and thirst. He’s out there victimized because of draconian government. He knows all this. Yet the hope lies here. Out of the ashes, the hope will rise. That is the hope of resurrection. The hope of renewal. The hope of restoration.
For now, as your fellow ones in Christ, we share in your pain. We’re here to weep with you and to share in your traumatic experiences. Praying along with you. Identifying with you that somehow we can also share in the joy of your restoration.
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