God And Calamity

Hagupit (Ruby) is coming and she’s packing quite a punch.

The prevalent response has been to ask for God’s intercession to spare us from the storm’s fury. Some pray that the typhoon’s path be diverted to nearby Japan (which is brilliantly insensitive) while others pray that the storm’s force be significantly reduced upon landfall.

Before I dissect this reaction, it’s notable that, this time around, people are actually worried about the typhoon. Gone are the days when both the government and the private sector are lackadaisical in their preparations. Now, we see relief operations building up and advisories abounding way before the storm arrives. I guess this is the silver lining of having consecutive Christmases decimated because of the likes of Pablo (2012), Sendong (2011), and Yolanda (2013).

To begin, below is the Oratio Imperata, a community prayer commonly said at the end of the mass:

Almighty Father

We raise our hearts to You in gratitude, for the wonders of creation of which we are part, for Your providence in sustaining us in our needs, and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe.

We acknowledge our sins against You and the rest of Your creation. We have not been good stewards of nature. We have confused Your command to subdue the earth. The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference.

Global warning is upon us. Typhoons, floods, volcanic eruption, and other natural calamities occur in the increasing number and intensity.

We turn to you, our loving Father, and beg forgiveness for our sins.

We ask that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made.

We beseech You to inspire us all to grow into responsible stewards of Your creation, and generous neighbors to those in need. Amen

In brief, the prayer recognizes that the calamities we've experienced are man-made and that God alone can spare us from imminent destruction. It's a prayer to save our lives and property from calamity.

Let's contrast this with the spirituality imbued in Jesus Christ' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The prayer goes like this:

My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt.(Matthew 26:39)

Both prayers are similar in use and context; it is a prayer for deliverance from an inevitable event. However, Jesus Christ' prayer differs that he utters the second part which, I stress, is "nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt". The first asserts only the petition but the second prayer asks that God's will prevail over ours. 

Jesus Christ's prayer highlights the depth of his spiritual maturity and humility. How then should we respond in kind?

First, we acknowledge that God allows suffering. We believe in a God who didn't spare his only begotten son from dying on the cross. We also believe that, regardless of this, God has an infinitely good plan for us and he will use everything that we are - our strengths, gifts, joys, family, friends, and, yes, even our sufferings - to bring that plan into fruition.

Yes, it is right to pray that we be spared from calamity but our prayer must come with the tacit acknowledgment that God is with us in any circumstance and that, despite what we want, His will should be made manifest. For some, this may seem fatalistic but for us Christians, this is how we are taught to pray.

This acknowledgment also brings with it a shift in perspective. If it is God's will that I perish, how then should we pray instead? Then, we pray that, if it's our time, we'll be ready to face Him and that He bring comfort to those we'll leave behind.

To God be the glory.