Solid Faith on Shaky Ground

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:
 
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
 
Flare up like flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
 
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don't let yourself lose me.
 
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
 
Give me your hand.
                                       -Rilke's Book of Hours, I, 59

Every day we are confronted with the "seriousness" of life. If our own lives are at the moment blissfully devoid of serious stuff, we can readily find a relative, friend or neighbor who's dealing with serious life stuff.  The enormity of the suffering of the Japanese people affected by the devastating quake and Tsunami compels us to realize how serious life can get in one cataclysmic moment.  This disaster with its widespread destruction and horrendous human cost arose from a singular and sudden geological shift. The spiritual significance of this event seems vitally important to recognize; that while we maintain through faith that we "stand on holy ground" the earth is not a stable and constant foundation upon which to build our faith.

As the expression goes, "Shift Happens!" Whether we are dealing with tectonic plates that slide and destroy the foundations of lives, or the unbridled mutation of cells that threaten a body, or the free fall of monetary value that threatens economic survival, all are expected and cyclical events certain to arise again and again on the human scene.  

Some people argue that such horrific events belie the existence of a loving Creator, who would not withhold its power to save humanity from such suffering.  This view sees the Divine as a reluctant Intervener that chooses capriciously to act or not act to avert disasters that would bring about "serious" life consequences. But what about this view misses the Big Picture? Seeing God as apart and acting upon a separate creation robs us of the God that is Spirit that is with us, in us, and working through all of creation constantly and completely. To adopt this Spirit view of the Divine is to find comfort as we move through all the changes and difficulties in life, knowing that suffering will not separate us from the Life that endures and bears all things with us.

It is equally important to recognize how narrow is our view of life  from our limited human perspective. With a little probing we can uncover some obvious paradoxes that would give us pause to judge the compassion or disregard of the Divine for life threatening events such as earthquakes and cancer for example.   The wider view would tell us that shifting tectonic plates make it possible for geological material to rise up and replenish the earth surface, which of course supports life on earth.  And, it has been the ongoing mutation of cells that has evolved life on this planet so that species could survive and thrive.  When we are quick to isolate events and cast blame upon the Creator, we miss the long standing life affirming impulse that Life continues to express through all of creation.

When we are facing the disasters of life and searching frantically for evidence of the Divine, it is imminently important that we remember that "God walks silently with us through the night." Remembering that it's impossible to be separate from the Life that is our essence, from the Love that made us out of itself, we can"just keep going" through the "beauty and the terror." If we continue to extend our hand in faith we will be lifted up-it's a promise that Love never breaks.