Apocalypse Now

October 11, 2005

Is it just my perception, or are we into a new reality with catastrophic disasters? First we had the tsunami, an event of such magnitude unseen in human history; then Hurricane Katrina set a new standard for destruction on American soil. Now the cataclysmic earthquake in Pakistan and India defies our comprehension. Throw in the occasional California wildfire and Iowa tornado for good measure, and it seems we have the “Apocalypse of the Week”.

In this age of special effects (and reality television) in which we routinely see airplanes and buildings explode, I fear we have become desensitized to the reality of pain and suffering. Take a trip to the Gulf Coast, and you will see that everything doesn’t turn out alright in an hour as it does on TV. And just in case we processed the calamities of the past few months and are growing complacent, you may now begin worrying about Avian (bird) flu, which has the potential to make the 1918 Pandemic pale in comparison.

What are we as Christians to make of all this? Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Not only did mankind fall when sin entered the Garden of Eden, all creation fell as well. Not only does mankind need redemption, but so does creation. In Christ, the hope of glory, we have the hope of personal and cosmic redemption.

Are these signs of the end of time? Unlike many of my colleagues, God hasn’t placed me on the “Time, Place and Speaker Committee” to announce (with great precision) when the end of time will come. There are plenty of preachers eager to share his/her version of the timeline. Jesus said there would be “wars, and rumors of war, famine and pestilence in diverse places”. These, he said, were just the beginnings of what was to follow. Buckle you seatbelts, there is turbulence ahead.

Some Islamic clerics pronounced Hurricane Katrina as God’s judgment on America. I am waiting to hear how they rationalize the mind of God in light of the awful earthquake in Pakistan. Therein lies the quandary we shall not understand in this life. The rain falls upon the just and the unjust. Only God, in his infinite wisdom, can make bring justice, personal and cosmic redemption, producing good out of evil, and making the last first, and the first last.

THE METHODS OF METHODISM
I received notice last week that The United Methodist Church granted my request to transfer my elder’s orders from the Mississippi Conference to the California-Pacific Conference. For the past seven years, I have served our congregation in the Cal-Pac Conference while holding membership in the Mississippi. As all of you know, Yazoo River water runs through my veins and a part of my heart will always be in the Mississippi Conference that nurtured and loved me when I needed spiritual love the most. I am proud to now be a full member of the Cal-Pac Conference.

So what does this mean? It means I am eligible to be appointed to congregations from Santa Barbara, Simi Valley, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, to Chula Vista and Imperial County. It also means I am eligible to be appointed to Honolulu, Guam and American Samoa. And if my Bishop appoints me to any of those places, I will gladly serve. But with everything being equal, I expect we will see no changes. I will request to be reappointed for an eighth year to Christ UMC, San Diego at our Charge Conference on October 16. And if Bishop Swenson agrees next June at Annual Conference, you will be stuck with me for another year. (Someone may well say, “He hasn’t gotten it right in seven years, let’s give him one more chance!”)