HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-05-03, Page 15THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2018. PAGE 15.
From the Minister's Study
When tragedy strikes, where is God?
By Brian Hymers
Knox United Church, Belgrave
With the recent events and the
outcry from so many caused by the
tragedy of the Humboldt hockey
team, the entire country is asking
why? or, better yet, where was God
and Jesus in all of this?
Pastor Sean Brandow, the team's
Chaplain Pastor of the Fellowship of
Evangelical Bible Church, made
these same remarks at the service
held in the Humboldt arena. His
honesty and truthfulness are
commendable; I was moved by his
statements and as a pastor can relate
directly to his words. We all doubt.
We are human.
He stated that he never wishes to
see or hear the sounds of that night,
the holding of a young player's
lifeless hand, and praying, where are
you God? Where were you when I
needed you the most? Where are you
for all these dead players? Where are
you?
As a minister of the word and
sacrament, we the clergy are to have
all the answers, and quite frankly,
sometimes we don't! In all the
schooling and paper -writing, the
resourcing and footnoting and
paraphrasing, there is nothing to help
us answer this question during times
of complete disaster and destruction.
The reason for this is quite simple:
we are not God, we are not Jesus and
we have no magical powers over
nature or physics. We are simple
human. In that statement lies the
answer to the questions we cannot
answer.
Yet, we have faith. It is with our
faith that we walk, not by sight,
sound or emotion. Only once our
faith takes over our human emotions,
can we come to solid ground. We can
begin to rationalize and review all
the material we have ingested and
understand that Christ was there.
That is where Christ is. He is the
solid ground which we walk upon. It
is believing in Him that allows us to
let go of the pain and suffering in the
loss of a loved one, friend of a
complete stranger. It is our faith that
allows us to let go of the feeling of
hurt and pain and suffering that just
will not give way.
Christ was there on that lonely
stretch of Saskatchewan highway,
when two pieces of mankind -
vehicles manufactured by man to
carry loads far greater than one man
can carry, to go speeds that no man
can achieve - simply collided. This
is all manmade, not caused by God.
Luke was a doctor, a person of
science and knowledge. His
accounts of scripture are to present
an accurate account of the life of
Jesus, to present Christ as the perfect
human and saviour.
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This well-educated man was a
logical thinker and a realist, yet he
writes about the presence of the
Holy Spirit at Jesus' birth, His
baptism, during Christ's ministry
and the Lord's resurrection. It is a
perfect example for us. Jesus lived in
dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
We are to then assume that Luke
believes wholeheartedly in the
spiritual presence of God, not only
among us, but with us and always in
us all.
The Holy Spirit was sent by God
as a confirmation of Jesus' authority.
The Holy Spirit is given to enable
people to live for Christ. By faith, we
can have the indwelling Holy Spirit's
presence and power to witness and to
serve.
The writings of Luke following the
resurrection include the women's
accounts of the empty tomb, in
which two men appear in dazzling
robes, and advise them to go to
Galilee.
That same day, Jesus is reported to
have appeared to two believers
travelling on a road. They were
walking to the village of Emmaus,
seven miles from Jerusalem. It is
recorded that God kept them from
recognizing Jesus. The men talked to
Jesus as if He did not know what was
going on, one of them is even named
Cleopas.
He tells the whole story of Jesus'
life to this stranger, he spoke of
Jesus' wondrous works and how He
was betrayed and killed and the body
was missing. The whole Easter story
is told by this fellow to Jesus, he was
prophesying about Christ to this
stranger on a road some seven miles
from the city. Yet, they did not
recognize Christ's presence with
them.
Following this visit, Jesus began to
recall scripture of Moses and the
prophets of old. He intrigued the
men so much that they begged Him
to stay at their home when they sat
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SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
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down to eat. Jesus blessed the bread
and suddenly their eyes saw Jesus.
They recognized His presence with
them. And at that moment He
disappeared. They then went
immediately to find the disciples and
tell them the story. Christ was there!
Our readings find the two men
telling their story, their personal
witness of Christ in their lives,
unexpectedly but just right when
they needed His comfort and
assurance.
Jesus does not come to us as a
figment of our imagination or like a
ghost, like some cheesy horror film.
Jesus appears as you and I appear to
BRUSSELS
United Church
Welcome to Sunday morning worship
& Sunday School
at 11:00 am
Hillary MacDonald (905) 246-7386
Macdonald.hillary@gmail.com
Everyone welcome
others, whole, human and tangible.
In scripture, Jesus appears not like
the risen Lazarus of John II where he
rose from the dead, and remained as
he always was. Jesus appears and
disappears until His assertion into
heaven, a visual factual being to
allow for "the belief of the
disciples".
We are told in 1 Corinthians 15:
42-50, "That we will receive this
type of body at our resurrection
following our death"
Paul writes in verse 42, "It is the
same way with the resurrection of
the dead. Our earthly bodies are
Continued on page 19
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, MAY 6
We invite you to join our church family in:
Worship & Sunday School - 11 am
Coffee & Snacks following the service
Come out and meet our new minister, Rev. Charmila Ireland
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
Nursery care available
519-887-6687
You're Invited
to come worsh p
with us
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ABUNDANT LIFE
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HURON CHAPEL
Every Sunday in Auburn at 9am & 11 am huronchapel.com
Blyth United Church
Est. 1875
Worship Service
at 9:30 am
Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday
9:30 am - 2:00 pm
blythunited@tcc.on.ca
6. Accessible ® Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches
OFFICE: 519-523-4224
Sunday, May 6
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School)
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers
during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Winaham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph's
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.
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