Of Fires,Floods and Faith

Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson
The phone call came on a Sunday afternoon. For a few seconds fear and anxiety gripped Ginger. It was from daughter-in-law Beth. She doesn’t ordinarily call us. Usually son Ben calls. What had happened that she would call? Ben for being almost 35 years old still enjoys “adventure” and what many people might consider “dangerous” activities – climbing up sheer rock cliffs, hiking mountain trials, teaching activities on “high ropes” adventure courses, with training in wilderness rescue. Well nothing had happened to him, but on the first afternoon of summer camp at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, where he is the assistant director, during registration, a forest fire broke out in the mountain forest near camp. He was quite tied up in the evacuation of the camp – relocating over 150 campers, counselors and staff to a nearby high school gym.

We watched the internet all week for news, as firefighters worked to extinguish the fires. Fortunately, the camp was spared and hopefully after being out of the camp for two weeks they will be able to move campers back. On Father’s Day, he called and said he would be running the camp’s mountain backpacking program from the back of his moving trailer he bought back when Beth was attending seminary in Dubuque.

While the fire in the Sangre de Christo Mountains in Colorado did not make the news outside of Colorado, we have spent the last months watching extreme natural phenomena around the world. There was one of history’s worst earthquakes in terms of the tsunami that followed and the Japanese nuclear disaster that resulted; some of the worst tornadoes in recent history, some of the nation’s largest forest fires, some of the worst flooding ever on the Missouri River and other rivers of the upper Great Plains.

These disasters are reason for many people to wonder what is happening. Some wonder if these are signs foretelling the end of times. Still others wonder if these things are a result of climate change that is taking place. I certainly do not wish to read too much into these events. But they do remind us that as human beings, important as we think we are, have little control over the world around us. I am reminded of Psalm 8, where the hymn writer looked up at the sky on a starry night, contemplated the scope of the universe, and wondered how it was that God could care so much for insignificant human beings.

What can we learn from these disasters and even the disasters that have hit eastern Iowa recently – the 2008 flooding, the Parkersburg tornado, the failure of the Lake Delhi Dam? We live in a dangerous world. Rivers flood, forests burns, mountains erupt, tornadoes and hurricanes form, and there is not much humans can do besides get out of the way. In the midst of all these events, we believe that God cares for us. When disaster strikes, God helps us through the events, providing family, neighbors, friends, and governmental assistance. God has created a world that can grow back, regenerated and repair itself. (However after the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, we are learning regeneration will take many many years and the verdict is not in yet how radically that area has been damaged.)

We can never protect ourselves from every danger or disaster that might befall us. Disasters bring terrible loss and grief for those involved. Yet we remain confident that God is with us and will help us deal whatever comes our way, for we are promised that nothing – forest fires, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or even death can ever separate us from the love of God.

Pondering at 60

Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson

Over the years, birthdays have come and birthdays have gone. I have had a few significant birthday parties planned by my wife over years, and as a child planned by my mother. My family members have always remembered me and many church members remember me in various ways. But for the most part, I have not paid lots of attention to birthdays as far as reflecting on them, neither dreading them nor eagerly anticipating them (at least not since childhood).

But as I approach my 60th birthday next week I have found myself being more reflective than in the past. I realize I need to think of myself in different terms. I can no longer think of myself as a young person, or even very middle middle-aged. (See, I want to still hang on to the term a while longer.) I know “you are as old as you feel.” But some days I do not feel very young any more. As some friends prepare to move, I contemplated helping them move, but reminded myself I had better be careful what I offer, so told them that I thought my all-day-long furniture-toting days were mostly behind and I would be more helpful standing in the moving van with my tape measure saying, “Bring me something 20x10x10”. While still willing to try most anything once, I find that I “pay for it” later. I have just spent close to 20 hours in the last weeks, on my hands and knees, installing hardwood flooring. I really feel it in my knees, hips, shoulders – well all over. And while most foods look yummy, I have learned to pace myself and to be selective, especially in the evening so as not to keep Ginger awake all night with my burping and belching.

We all age. It is a part of life. Years ago, my internship supervisor used to say that we are all born with a terminal disease. From birth, we begin moving towards death. (Well he said it a few times. He generally was not that gloomy). But as we move through life, we move through many successive stages, each of which has its many joys, blessings as well as challenges. We do not necessarily have to enjoy all of the challenges of every stage of life, but life is so much better for us and for those around us, when we can be accepting of the stage we are. We all recognize in a minute those persons who cannot accept their life stage and make fools of themselves trying to act much younger or much older than they actually are.

This year as I have been a bit more pensive in anticipating my birthday, we were once again confronted with a well-meaning, faithful, but somewhat misguided person predicting quite sincerely the end of the ages in what some Christians believe will be an event called the rapture. While not wishing to be too mocking or joking of what someone considers so important, I was naturally very skeptical and quite unconcerned. While I have not doubted that at some point there will be an end of life, as we know it, I have always thought of that time as being more individual than communal. As I turn 60, I recognize I have a lot less years ahead of me than I have behind me. Yet, I feel like I have always lived to make each day count in some way, able to go to sleep at night without regrets, or at least without too many of them. So whether the world ends in some sort of a rapture moment, or whether it ends like for so many in these past months because of the destruction caused by tornadoes, earthquakes or tidal waves, or whether it ends by simply “passing in one’s sleep”, it will end. And with each passing birthday, we each statistically get closer to that event. But as one reborn a child of God and marked with the cross of Christ forever, it is of no consequence, and I can celebrate another birthday (even though I don’t have to like the creaky achy knees.)