Once or twice in our experience of this life here on earth something happens which shapes the course of our lives. Many on the East Coast have experienced such an event. Consider for a moment what has been set in motion from Sandy:
● 13 foot surge of seawater. 3 feet above the 200 year old record and 90 mph winds
● The battery tunnel connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn flooded.
● 74 foot crane in the middle of Manhattan tittering over the city
● 8.2 million in 7 states from the Carolina’s to Ohio without power
● a close call at 2 nuclear plants
● 100 homes destroyed first by flood and then by fire in Queens (historic breezy Point)
● The West Virginia Blizzard as a result of the storm.
● ships and trees, and roads, and homes gone.
● dozens of people lost their lives
That's the big picture and it says nothing of the tens of thousands of people whose lives are changed in significant ways. Try to calculate the human toll emotionally and spiritually and you cannot. Only God can weigh such matters. But we try in feeble ways to understand. Events like Sandy raise fundamental questions.
Why is there so much chaos?
Why does nature so overwhelm us and destroy our lives.
Why do innocent people suffer?
Questions always gets asked, don’t they: Where was God on September 11, 2001? Where was God when 280,000 perished in the Asian Tsunami? Where was God this week? I am struck by how universal these questions are. They are as old as Job and are asked by the wisest people among us. For years mankind has sought the answer to suffering. And we are still searching. These monstrous works beckon the question Who’s in control here? Nature? Man? God?
At the core of events which lead to the Gospel of today were the same queries (Mark 12:28-34). The Disciples of Jesus were seeing so much change in their time and era, so much turmoil, hurt, anger, suppression they too wanted to get down to the core of it all. There were so many questions in fact that the scribes and the pharisees were arguing with one another over the answers. So they come to Jesus - they want to get down to the core of it all - what is the greatest commandment? - what is the core, what is the essence, what is it all about - help us understand in the midst of the storm. Jesus reply - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength and love your neighbour as yourself.
Here is the mastery of storms - they get us back to the core, the truth! When the storm - call it Sandy or just call it Life at times - turns everything upside down, causes hundred of mile strong drafts, and tsunami type waves - at the end - what gets us thru it - what gets us past it, what lets us keep moving on - well - is our Core Principles, our Central Character, our Concrete Reasons for Being Who we are!
Jesus reminds us, in His response to the scribes and pharisees - that we must remember what we are about - Love of God and Love of Neighbour and that the mission we are on is not only to Live the Gospel - but Give the Gospel - to proclaim and be active in sharing the Good News.
Let me finish with this:
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your life of faith, family, your children, your health, your friends--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else--the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a little bit more."
Let us -even in the storms - get back to the core, the truth!- there is always room for Love of God and Neighbour.