This one is going to be part work update, part rumination of a recent news item in Christian circles. I know I usually keep them separate, but this has been on my mind all week, so you'll just have to bear with me.
First, work. Yes, I did work this week. After enjoying a fabulous Christmas last week with my parents, I joined the few but faithful in the office this week (minus Wednesday). For a couple of the days, I've been the only one in my hallway. At least one day, I was the only one downstairs. I never mind those days. It's quiet, and I can get a fair amount done.
This week was a lot of catching up on project statuses (stati?). I think a lot of our translators have had time at the end of the year, because we've been receiving transfiles left and right. It's nice to know we'll have plenty to do for the next month or so.
As for me, I've been continuing to work on publishing English booklets. It'll be nice when we have a standard for each art set.
So, full disclosure, I've been going through a bit of a rough time. I'm trying out a new medication, but the side effects are less than ideal. I've already stopped one and started another, which feels less like its poisoning me, but comes with its own little delights. So if I'm around less or appear to be a bit off (more than usual), that's why. In theory, this is supposed to make me healthier.
We'll see.
Okay, now for the other thing. And I realize, there are actually a lot of things going on in the church right now (I may talk about the United Methodists later). But the specific one I want to address is the #WakeUpOlive controversy.
Last month, the two-year-old daughter of the worship leader at Bethel Church in Redding, California, died in her sleep. It was a tragic situation. But it didn't end there. Her parents, and the church members, spent the next six days declaring that God would work a miracle and that Olive would wake up.
I need to be very careful how I talk about this. In no way do I want to imply that God cannot work miracles, that miraculous healing doesn't take place, or that people who were dead can't suddenly start breathing again. We have ample evidence of miracles in the Bible (particularly in New Testament times when there was an abundant outpouring of the Spirit), we know Jesus came back from the dead, we know he brought Lazarus back, and our more liturgical brothers and sisters like to opine on the deeds of various saints and religious figures throughout history. There was even a movie last year about the mom who prayed for her kid who fell through the ice and he miraculously recovered.
But I've come to understand something about this particular congregation. Their doctrine includes the supposition that God's will is always to heal. And I can't get behind that.
(Do not bring 2 Peter 3:9 into this. Peter was talking about spiritual death. Sure, if you want to go further back, God probably didn't want humanity to experience death, but Adam and Eve took care of that one, so go suck a lemon.)
What did Jesus say in Gethsemane? "Not my will, but yours be done." God's will reigns supreme, and his will is that he be glorified. IF that can happen via a miracle, then MAYBE your loved one will be healed. And maybe they'll pursue modern medicine and nature will take its course. But if God's will is always to heal, then why doesn't it happen? Can you impede God's will? I say no. It may not happen the way you think it should, but if God wills something, it's going to happen. So why don't we hear about miraculous healings and resurrections all the time? Are people not praying fervently enough for their family or friends? That puts a huge amount of undeserved pressure and guilt on them.
I hesitated about sharing the following. But it has resonated with me for various reasons. Five years before I was born, my parents had another daughter, Jill. They knew a few months into the pregnancy that there were problems, but the severity of them was not immediately apparent. Their church rallied around them, and many well-meaning people told my mother that God had told them that he would work a miracle and that Jill would be born perfectly healthy.
But my mom told me a different story. She told me that she knew before Jill was born that they wouldn't be taking a baby home with them. God had given her peace, and she understood his will. That didn't mean she didn't grieve. But had she listened to those church members and not to God, her grieving process would have been quite different when Jill died an hour after she was born. Instead of focusing that time on my dad and her daughter, my mom could have been railing against the cruelty of a God who had seemingly promised one thing and then failed to follow through.
We live in a fallen world, where death is a natural consequence of life. It's sad, it's horrifying, it's tragic, and it's inevitable. Sometimes it happens sooner than we expect. Sometimes there's a reprieve. But it is God who determines all of that. Not us. We don't get to dictate to God what his will is.
I feel for the family of little Olive. I hope that their faith, and the faith of those who rallied around them, isn't broken by a perceived failure. I hope they can grieve in peace instead of dealing with idiots who tell them they were foolish for expecting for a miracle. I get the impulse to pray for miracles. It's what I would do. But I also hope that I would be confident that whatever happened, miracle or no, God had a hand in it and knew what was best.
Look, someone else addressed this better than I can. But I felt I needed to talk to someone about it, and, well, you're a semi-captive audience. Thanks for attending my therapy session.
Happy New Year.
