Pinga
Letter from Jim Wallis : We Must Pray and Act for Japan
Posted on: 03/21/2011 17:15
I am on the Sojourner's email list.
I received a list mail on March 17th, which I find powerful on first read.
I thought I would offer it to you, so that you could seek our Sojourner's page and/ or comment on this letter
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Pinga
We Must Pray and Act for
Posted on: 03/21/2011 17:17
We Must Pray and Act for Japan
Once again, we are seeing human and environmental tragedy. In Japan, a natural disaster has destroyed all human attempts for control. Half a world away from the United States, a nation is in shock and the mourning has just begun. Japan and its people will never be the same. The world is seeing, once again, incredible stories of pain and loss, and, in the midst of all the suffering, other stories of hope and heroism. There is no satisfying theological explanation of why such things happen; the earth shifts and the oceans rage. Why here? Why now? Nobody really knows. In a very sad way, these catastrophes bring people together. Around the globe, people have been moved to help. It's often somebody else's pain and loss that reminds us of what is important and what is not -- and even what it means to be human.
Of course, there is a very human temptation to just turn off the TV, to shut off your heart and your mind, and say that it is all just too much to take in. Yet, the images that are hard to see and the stories that are hard to hear are often the ones that change us most, and indeed they should. As a Christian, I don't have easy answers to this kind of human suffering, but I believe it breaks the heart of God -- and that means it should break our hearts too. We should feel pain when we see others in pain.
This disaster has another dimension that is still unfolding -- a potential nuclear crisis. The size of the quake and the surge of the waters were more than the "completely safe" nuclear power plants could handle. "Completely safe," as they say, has just left the house. It's like the "completely safe" off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Or maybe "clean coal" or the "real doubts" about climate change. All of this goes out the window when the impossible happens. Yesterday, on a morning show, I heard a debate between going nuclear, which risks the deaths of thousands of people and the contamination of whole areas of the globe, versus the complete destruction of the planet due to global warming. Lovely choices. Are these really the only ones? We now need to discuss this at a much deeper level. What if we finally pushed all the huge special interests of the energy industries aside and decided to push for the best future options? What if we told them that their interests are simply not in line with the common good and their disasters are no longer acceptable to us? What would that look like? Could we build a safe energy future?
But the immediate challenge today is to allow the images and the stories from Japan to make us more connected with the world around us. When we see others suffer like this, the worst thing to do is to listen to public officials who tell us, "Don't worry, it couldn't happen here." Of course it could. To be human is to be vulnerable, and there is no way to take this away. A shared sense of vulnerability is what could change us all for the better.
Seeing the pain of others can help us to open up our hearts and our lives. Instead of just being spectators, we can always find a way to help. Christians are always called to pray and act. Our prayers are not in vain. As Lent has started, I am reminded that our fasting is not in vain either. Our Lenten practices are more than just personal, spiritual exercises; rather, prayer and fasting must lead to actions that change us and the world.
In the face of Japan's overwhelming tragedy, we should not turn away or simply become just gawking spectators. As Christians we always have the responsibility to respond in some way. May God's peace and healing be with the people of Japan, and may their suffering bring the church to prayer and action towards a more peaceful global future.
Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: A Guide for Economic and Moral Recovery, and CEO of Sojourners. He blogs at www.godspolitics.com. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.
Alex
I really like this kind of
Posted on: 03/21/2011 17:51
I really like this kind of theological response. It balances prayer with human action and human responsibility.m It strikes a cord inside me. I totally lost respect for Jay Ingram when he claimed we should not worry about it happening here, because the nuclear plant in Japan was forty years old. As if there was no chance of our plants becoming 40 years old.
Pinga
Alex, I agree.... I felt good
Posted on: 03/21/2011 18:13
Alex, I agree.... I felt good and that there was something that I could do after reading it. It allowed me to move.
stardust
Pinga Excellent! This is one
Posted on: 03/21/2011 22:07
Pinga
Excellent! This is one of the very best commentaries I've read on Japan. I'm thinking too of all those who were caught up in Katrina and how it brings back painful memories for them. Yes, we need to care and to share our brothers and sisters pain wherever they may be. We must also be optimistic that they will rebuild.....even with ruins.
qwerty
Just a little niggling point
Posted on: 03/21/2011 22:46
Just a little niggling point here. We do not need a "theological explanation" of what happened in Japan because we already have a complete explanation and it is geological.
Japan has many offers of help but has accepted few if any. Japan has money so don't bother sending it, they don't need it. They have 200,000 well trained disaster workers on the ground and they don't need or want our help on that front either. They want to get on with the job and not have to babysit non-Japanesse speaking dilettantes with whom they cannot communicate. Communication is a big issue.
Japan wants to handle their nuclear crisis by themselves and do not wish to involve a committee of foreign experts. They have their own experts and they all speak Japanese. Here too communication (as well as national pride) is a big issue.
Prayer seems about all that is left and I'm sure the Japanese appreciate prayer. There is little else that one can do in any case.
Charities have already realized the points above and are raising money by reference to Japan which money is not being specifically earmarked for Japan because the charities do not know they will be able to spend the money by giving aid there.
The currency markets have already shown that they are confident that Japan will rebuild and have anticipated that foreign assets will be liquidated to pay for the rebuilding and the money repatriated with a resulting high demand for yen which will drive up the price (in the same way that high demand will drive up the price of grocery items). Foreign governments (G7) have assisted Japan by intervening in the currency market to keep the yen from running up in value and doing damage to the Japanese economy. So we have been able to provide tangible help to Japan but in a way which is subtle and complex.
Alex
I agree with the fact that
Posted on: 03/22/2011 00:24
I agree with the fact that the earthquake and tidal wave need no explanation. However many of the consequences and damages are not due to the earthquake. Like the situation in Haiti, and the one in New Orleans, naturally disasters expose problems with how we live as humans and the choices we make.
We know earthquakes, and hurricanes happen. In fact they happen pretty frequently. We as humans have to learn how to respond and part of that is using these events to become educated.
Dufferin's Ditch (sp) is a good example of how massive death and suffering can be averted if one is prepared and takes responsibility for the consequences of disasters. If Manitoba had not built a ditch around Winnipeg, it would have been destroyed. If we had built adequate dikes around New Orleans, if would averted most of the problems. If colonialism, and corruption had not been in place in Haiti,they would have had an adequate infrastructure, it would have dealt with the hurricane without massive amount of death and suffering. Likewise if we are to learn from Japan, then we will learn that Nuclear power is not safe, we need other alternatives to stop global warming.