Two Views of God

I was brought to tears twice this week, unusual for me. The tears, in both instances, were precipitated by a view of God.

Wednesday, as I was driving back from my weekly team meeting with the hospice team with which I am currently interning. At the meeting, we spent time being with and feeling helpless with the five Haitian members of the staff who hadn't yet heard from their families in Haiti. As I was driving, I heard Pat Robertson's comments about Haiti on the radio:

The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other."

I had to pull over. The experience of just being with those who were suffering and then listening to Robertson smugly "explaining" the tragedy for us lay folks was too much. His is a view of God that we have all encountered at some point or another. God blesses those who are good and curses those who are bad. It is beneficial, at least in the short run. It keeps God in a box. It keeps us in control, keeps us confident that we are right. If we are the ones in the earthquake, however, it is useless.

Another experience of God I had was Friday morning. I went to an interfaith vigil service for the people of Haiti. We prayed and sang in Spanish, Creole, Hebrew, and English. We cried, some wailed. We praised God, we yelled at God. We didn't feel the need to explain. We didn't feel the need to be right. We just sat, with one another and with God. It was a glimpse of authentic community.