Searching for Answers in the midst of Tragedy

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Luke 23:42

For the last 6 weeks it has been one tragedy after another.  There have been three catastrophic hurricanes – ripping apart southeast Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.  There have been major earthquakes near Mexico City, huge fires in the northwest United States, and typhoons in the Pacific.  Now there is this horrible massacre in Las Vegas.  Quite naturally, during all of this, people have started to do what we always do at such moment – we have started to search for answers. 

For example, people are searching for someone to blame.  But who do you blame for a hurricane or an earthquake?  Those things are natural disasters.  Yet still people point to God and blame Him as cruel and unloving.  Some in the news have even claimed that God is punishing people for their lifestyle, for their politics and other ridiculous reasons. Other blame comes after the fact.  Some blame the government, the President for not responding quick enough.  It would seem there is an obvious person to blame in what happened in Las Vegas – the villain doing the shooting.  Yet that isn’t enough. People want to blame the different sides in the gun control debate.  Who did this is a big, important question.  But does it really provide the healing and comfort people need right now? 

Another question people ask is the “why” question.  “Why did this happen?”  People want to make some sense out of any horrible, tragic situation.  I suppose you could point to the natural phenomena that bring about hurricanes and earthquakes.  But I don’t think that’s what people are looking to understand.  The why question is deeper.  “If God is a loving God, why did He let this happen?”  In the case of this gunman in Las Vegas – the last three days in the media there has been relentless speculation on his motive.  “Did he have gambling problems?”  “Had he been radicalized?”  “Did he have psychological problems?”  “Was he upset about politics?”  Yet even should we answer these questions, will that help?  You can’t make sense out of a senseless situation.  You can’t make sense out of evil.  The Bible doesn’t even explain how evil began, only that evil is real.  Evil exists.

Too often there aren’t any good answers.  Yet there is something else worth searching for.  What we need to search for is hope in the midst of tragedy.  A lot of that has been happening.   After each of these tragedies we have found great hope in how neighbors and strangers have reached out to help each other.  There have been countless stories out of Las Vegas of great heroism as people shielded others from the bullets.  A good friend who lives in California, is searching for the man who shielded her and her daughter, even as he took a bullet in the leg.  Those stories really do help.  They lift up our spirit at a time of great sadness.

There is however an even more important place to search for hope in the midst of tragedy.  Look to the man on the cross next to yours.  What?  I am thinking of the thieves crucified with Jesus.  Both men were in the last hours of messy lives that were now ending in their execution.  One sought to blame someone.  He hurled insults at Jesus.  The other one looked at Jesus next to him and found reason for hope.  After rebuking the first thief, this second man turned to Jesus in hope and called out,   “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.’  Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’”   In the midst of his suffering this thief found hope in the fact that God’s own Son was nailed to the cross next to him.

That is where hope is always to be found – in Jesus hanging on the cross next to yours.  Often there is no sense to be made out of our suffering.  But there is sense to His suffering.  He came to live, suffer and die in our place… to redeem us from sin and death. He rose again so that all who believe in Him – no matter what mess we have made of our lives, no matter what tragedies befall us – that we might have eternal life.  He entered into our suffering, that He might bring us into his glory!  Ours is a God who is with us in tragedy… who hangs, as it were, on the cross next to ours.  Indeed, He hangs on the cross that should have been ours.   And He rose again so that we might have a hope that will never disappoint. 

So, may I suggest this, as we search for answers after tragedy big or small.  Look over to Jesus on the cross next to yours.  Let this be your prayer, “Lord remember me!  Find real hope for every situation in Him, in His answer spoken from His cross, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”