On Tuesday morning I got a text from Sabrina Swanson, who lives with her husband Jon in Santa Rosa. “Hey Pastor Steve. It’s Sabrina Swanson. Hope all is well with you. Could you say a prayer in church Sunday for Santa Rosa? My town is ½ burnt to the ground in less than 24 hours….7 lives lost and 100s upon 100s of lively hoods gone. Thanks.” That text stopped me cold. I shared our sadness as a church over this news and assured her that we would be praying for her and the whole town. After these devastating fires, we are humbled again by the forces of nature which, like those of an earthquake or hurricane, bring us to our knees in prayer, make us want to curse, or cry, or all of the above.
At times like this I try to remember that a universe in which God intervened and prevented anything harmful from happening, would be a universe in which nothing truly beautiful could happen either; a world where every action and every event was pre-deter...