IRENE - A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE

 by Stephen L. Dunn

I am on vacation as you receive this post but it is Thursday morning as I compose it.  This past week many things have grabbed the headlines: an up and down market, the collapse of the regime of Kaddafi in Libya, the battle for starting quarterback positions in the NFL, the resignation of Steve Jobs from Apple, an unexpected earthquake in the Middle Atlantic region.  Thursday morning, however, Irene has grabbed the nation’s attention.  The growing monster has already grown to a Category 3 storm with winds of 115 miles per hour. Landfall may now be the Delmar Peninsula and it will likely affect 55 millions Americans. “Tornadoes and torrential winds, downed trees and major flooding” is Al Roker’s warning.  Mandatory evacuations have already begun in the Outer Banks and other coastal areas.

Such events are a disturbing reminder to many people of how much humanity does not control its environment or its life.  Disturbing because many of us believe the myth that human kind ultimately can save itself.  We persist in trying to depend upon ourselves to be the arbiter on what is right and wrong, what values we will live by and what values we will ignore.

God is the Designer of the Universe.  It is He who has created Nature and its Laws.  Contrary to the opinion of the Pat Robertsons of the world, He does not routinely suspend those Laws to punish particular individuals or communities while ignoring the collateral damage to others.  Contrary to the opinion of those looking for an excuse to ignore God, His permitting of those Laws to continue in force are also not a measure of His lack of love or untrustworthiness.

By the time you read this, Irene will probably be down to Tropical Storm status making life a mess in upstate New York and New England, and those for whom the storm has been replaced with sunshine over the debris will begin to return to their state of operating as if they themselves are sovereign in this world. And for those of us who love humanity as God loves us, that fact is disturbing.