Very bad storms

Amazingly, the day after the second major hurricane in a month strikes the same Florida coastline, the first reading for the daily Liturgy features the story of Job’s family and property being destroyed by bad weather.

Yet on the same day some people in Florida were complaining of hurricane fatigue, some people in Haiti were worshipping God even as they mourned the loss of thousands and suffered unimaginable deprivations from the very same storm.

Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair.
He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,
"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!"

That is not to say that everyone in Haiti reacted to calamity in the same pious way as Job. In both Haiti and Florida, some reacted piously, some reacted heroically, some reacted irritably, and some reacted maliciously.

For most of us, the bad things that may happen in our lives are far, far less dramatic, but we should learn from the example of Job.

He was not reckless or irresponsible. He was prudent with what he had. Yet even as he worked hard and was blessed with great wealth, he always remembered that each and every thing was a gift from the Lord and that what was important is how he used these things.

He loved his children deeply and did everything he could to make them safe and happy, but he always remembered that they too were gifts from God, that they too were in the hand of God, and that what was important was how he loved and taught them. (Perhaps, as we read of Abraham in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Job also realized how God could give him back his children in the resurrection.)

God gives us many gifts, but it is His love that lasts forever and will keep us truly safe and happy, no matter what we have or what we lose.