Lenten Reflection 2/15

A passenger from the cruise ship Triumph kisses the ground
upon returning to land

Lenten Reflection 2/15

The people who got onto Carnival cruise line's luxury liner "Triumph" did not get the cruise they'd hoped for.  A fire on board knocked out the power system, disrupting food preparation, sanitation systems and even forward movement.  For five days, passengers floated in the Gulf of Mexico while tugs slowly got them to shore and toilets overflowed and food went from lavish buffets to cold sandwiches.  The passengers finally made it onto dry land today and a whole lot of press has been devoted to their "ordeal."

OK, so I'm not going to poo poo the stress this caused.  People did not sign up for what they got.  And clearly it was an unpleasant experience, though not life threatening.  People lost out on having a fun and relaxing vacation - and I bet that for some of them, it'll be a whole year before they get another one.  However, I've got to say that what many call an ordeal might be no worse than what some people in the world live with everyday.  In Kampala, Uganda, for example, only 17% of the people have access to piped water.  And that's EVERY day.

In the reading from Deuteronomy today, it says that when you love God and God's commandments, God will love you, bless you, increase you, bless your family, your crops - and basically you'll never have anything bad happen to you ever again - no sickness or afflictions.  Not only that, all your enemies will be complete toast.

I've got to wonder about this.  I've got to wonder about the entitlement of it.  I've got to wonder about how it makes us God fearing westerners think everything should always go great for us, and when it doesn't, some horrible enemy must be to blame (and darn it, we're going to SUE them for it!)

I've got to wonder.  I've heard stories of crew members on that boat continuing to be supportive and cheerful.  Well, sure, that's their job.  But I also heard about people who made the best of the situation and had a vacation anyway, despite the stress and chaos of the unexpected situation.  I wonder if an attitude of gratitude toward God does - truly - bless us deeply.  I wonder if even sickness and affliction can be born with gratitute and peace if you can get into that God loving space.

And I've got to wonder if most of the time our enemies are not outside us - others inflicting things upon us that we are helpless victims of - but live within us.  I wonder if the attitudes we harbor inside us that make us feel entitled to have things the way we want them and that make us blind to the plight of others and keep us isolated at the center of our own universes could be the enemies that really hold us hostage on a daily basis.

If that kind of enemy were made complete toast, I've got to wonder how the world would look.


Readings for today: Deut. 7:12-16; Titus 2:1-15; John 1:35-42
Readings for Saturday: Deut. 7:17-26; Titus 3:1-15; John 1:43-51
Readings for Sunday: Deut. 8:1-10; 1 Cor. 1:17-31; Mark 2:18-22 
Elsa is reading "The Message" translation this year.