The earthquake in Haiti has left hundreds of thousands dead. Many more have been left without running water.  The transportation system has been severely damaged. The scope of this destruction has caused many people to ask the question, “Why?”  Sometimes in the wake of a natural disaster there are those who say that the event was “divine retribution” for sin.  I do not agree with this philosophy and I do not see it supported by the Bible as a whole.

Although in the Old Testament there are instances in which God punished sin through natural disasters, this perspective is neither supported by other portions of the Old Testament or by the New Testament.   An earlier Old Testament idea implies that a Godly life prevents hardship.  If a person is good, kind, loving, prayerful, and worshipful, then he or she will reap the blessings of God and nothing bad will happen to him or her. Most people remember Noah and the flood in Genesis.  Noah, a righteous man, is told by God to build a boat that will save his family and the innocent species of the world from a flood sent to destroy the unrighteous people. This story and others similar to it lead people to conclude that natural disasters are God’s punishment for bad behavior, retribution for sin.

But look further in the Old Testament and we find that suffering comes to the righteous and unrighteous alike. The 73^rd Psalm, and other similar Psalms, point out that righteousness does not protect one from disaster.  In the book bearing his name, Job’s home is destroyed by a tornado yet the text says he was a “righteous man.”   Job’s good behavior was not a shield from the natural calamities that affected the world around him.

In the New Testament, Matthew 5:45 [show]Matthew 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (ESV)
states that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends the rain on the just and the unjust.”  Given these scriptures from the Old and New Testaments, it is hard to make the case that natural disasters are punishment for sin. With these words, Jesus seems to disconnect sin from the forces of nature.   Jesus is describing that God and all that he created is present for the just and unjust alike. God’s love is not whimsical or conditional.

Though some may try to make the case that the earthquake was God’s judgment, I would like to think that there is another way to look at this tragedy altogether.  When the apostle Paul was on a mission trip, he encountered a great earthquake (Acts 16:25-33 [show]Acts 16:25-33 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. (ESV)
) which destroyed the jail cell in which he was living.  After the event, Paul’s jailer and the jailer’s entire family became Christians.  Others became followers of the Christian way as well.  The earthquake became an opportunity for him to witness to his faith in Christ.  He took the terrible and turned it into a triumph, through Jesus Christ. Paul turned what is unquestionably an event that was tragic into an opportunity to share the love of God with others, inviting them to have the hope that God provides. Perhaps this earthquake will be an opportunity for contemporary Christians to share their faith as well.  This will be a time when we will reveal our truest character through our words, prayers, and actions. We can respond with judgment.  Or, we can be a Christian witness through mercy ministries, prayer, and finding ways to show God’s love.  Which will it be?

Here are three ways that members and friends of First United Methodist Church can help with the disaster in Haiti.  First, the most efficient way to provide immediate assistance is through financial giving. Gifts made through UMCOR (the mission arm of the United Methodist Church) provide 100% direct aid.  All administrative expenses have already been absorbed by apportionment giving through the United Methodist Church so you can be assured that 100% of these gifts will be used for immediate needs such as food, water, shelter and medicine.  If you would like to help in this way, please make out a check to First United Methodist Church.  Write UMCOR Advance #418325 on the memo portion of your check.  Second, our church is partnering with the Shawnee Ruritan Club and MedMissionary.Org to provide clothing for Haitian children. Bring “new”, “summer” clothes to the church for infants and children under the age twelve.  Remember, Haiti is a Caribbean nation.  It is warm year round. Heavy clothes are unnecessary.  New items should be placed on the stage in the Fellowship Hall of the church.  Ruritans will pack items received and Haitian doctors will deliver and distribute them. Third, please continue to pray for the aid workers as well as the people of Haiti. Two United Methodist UMCOR workers, stationed in Haiti before the crisis, died in the earthquake.   We will continue to update you on responses to the Haitian crisis through our church.  Please check the newsletter and bulletin periodically.

Haiti is located about 750 miles southeast of Florida and slightly to the east of Cuba. It is an independent Caribbean nation. The history of Haiti and that of the United States have been intertwined since the 1900’s. Before that time, Haiti was a French colony. Haiti broke away from France in the only successful slave rebellion which ended in 1803. French is still the official language, but most people speak Haitian Creole which is a combination of various languages. The United States sent Marines to occupy the country from 1915-1937. After the Marines left, the nation became a democracy. Some of the elected leaders failed to step down when their terms expired including the infamous “Papa Doc” and his son “Baby Doc”. The United States intervened once again in 1996 and 2004 to help with the transition of power as the terms of elected leaders expired. Since 2004 the United Nations has been present to ensure the stability of this nation. Haiti enjoyed a period of relative calm prior to the earthquake. The United Methodist Commission on Relief has been in Haiti for many years.