Where is God in Times of Tragedy?

Faith Leaders Share Their Views on God and Suffering

Compiled by Omar Sacirbey

Of the many traits that our planet’s diverse peoples share is our vulnerability – physical, mental, spiritual – to tragedy. The natural disasters come out of nowhere and in seconds take hundreds of thousands of lives, good lives, the lives of the poor, weak and innocent, those least deserving of tragedy. Same with the senseless violence that cuts down the best and brightest citizens and the diseases that snatch little children: They force difficult questions and test faith. Why did God let this happen? Could God have stopped it? Is there a God? Then why do so many bad things happen to so many good people?

What’s also shared across the globe is the way faith can shape how we understand and respond to tragedy. At the same time, there is great diversity in what people see in tragedy: wrath, rebirth, mystery, and more. Here, 14 religious figures and relief experts from five religions offer their reflections on tragedy, and how faith helps them understand and respond to it.

Omar Sacirbey writes for Religion News Service and other outlets.

God's Grace Is Sufficient

Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, President, Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul lists difficulties he has had to endure in this lifetime. Referring to them as “insults, hardships, and calamities,” Paul tells the readers that he had often asked that God remove them and, one can only assume, not let them happen again. God’s revelation has become the hallmark of our own response to the many misfortunes and heartaches we confront. “My grace is sufficient for you.”

The twenty-first century has opened with a seemingly never-ending series of tragic events. Some are part of the created and natural order of things. Others are the result of what humanity opts to do to the good creation and to the inhabitants of this globe. The violence, suspicion, hatred, and greed that are so visible bring on events of tragic proportions.

The response of the believer is once again to hear and to trust that word revealed so long ago: God’s grace is sufficient. It does not protect us or offer us immunity from tragedy, but it does sustain with hope and healing. God’s grace remains steady, to hold us and to empower us to work for justice and act with compassion with and among those who face tragic circumstances and events.

'We Will Do and We Will Understand'

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism

Where is God when tragedy strikes? In our imperfect and deeply flawed world, we cannot know with absolute certainty. But we Jews are people of faith. When we accepted the covenant with God, we said: “naaseh v’nishma” – “we will do and we will understand.” This means, according to the rabbinic tradition, that, “we will do and THEN we will understand.” In other words, we confront tragedy – and all of life – by doing. Our faith is the faith made real in the lives and deeds that heal at least some of the wounds of the afflicted. Because we choose to understand God not as a noun but as a verb: healing the sick, clothing the naked, housing the homeless. These, we know, are the attributes of God, and we testify to God’s existence by emulating God’s behavior through the verbs of our own conduct.

Where is God? God is with the suffering and the dying; with those who show compassion and offer aid; with those who comfort the fallen.

We Jews are not blind to the cruelty of fortune or to the randomness of circumstance. But we confront such things with a coldly realistic eye, and we choose faith over denial and despair. And always, always, we proclaim our devotion to God and our profound conviction that no tragedy is the last word.

Both Tragedy and Joy Are Part of God's Will

Laleh Bakhtiar, Ph. D., First American Woman to Translate the Sublime Quran

For Muslims, the belief that life in this world is temporary and that life eternal is in the Hereafter, helps us deal with tragedy. For us, life does not come to an end with physical death. The journey of the rational soul continues in the spiritual world of the unseen based on deeds committed or omitted in this world. Then, there will be a Judgment Day when the world as we know it will come to an end. All human beings will be resurrected. Those whose good deeds weigh heavier than their wrong deeds will be in heaven.

Therefore, while there is certainly a time of sorrow, suffering and bearing the heavy burden of a sense of loss when tragedy strikes, understanding that both tragedy and joy are part of God’s Will and that everything perishes except God, that all life will come to an end someday helps comfort a Muslim when tragedy strikes.

People of Every Faith, Uniting to Help Others

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, Chairman, Catholic Relief Services

How can we as Christians understand the overwhelming tragedies? Faith. When I visited St. Frances de Sales Hospital in Haiti shortly after that troubled nation’s devastating earthquake, I witnessed the profound sorrow, tragedy and darkness of the suffering and death of Jesus, but also the radiance, and hope of his Resurrection.

The hospital was more than 70 percent destroyed, including the neonatal unit, where more than 40 babies died. Mothers crying next to the remains of crushed incubators asked me to pray with them, and bless the unintended grave. It was a Good Friday experience like no other, an experience of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

But as I visited the sick, injured, grieving, and homeless, I also saw hope reminiscent of the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. I saw it in the outpouring of aid and donations from the American people, and in the faces of our troops, who were simultaneously tough, professional and tender. I saw it in the response of people of every faith, uniting to help. And I saw it in the Haitian people, crying, suffering, and hurting, but also resilient and determined to rebuild.

'May the Ocean of Suffering Run Dry'

Kathy Wesley, Resident Teacher, Columbus (Oh) Karma Thegsum Choling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center

The historical Buddha described life as teeming with suffering - conflicts and disappointments, mishaps and disasters - and that the only action that made sense in the face of all this suffering was loving kindness. Seeing all beings as our brothers and sisters in this world of suffering, we can reach out and touch them with the only medicine we can freely give: our love. Kindness erases anger, stills jealousy, levels pride, lifts depression, eases fear, and pulls out selfishness – the force the Buddha said was the root for all suffering. No one is “to blame” for tragedy. As ordinary beings, we cannot possibly know all the causes and conditions that bring tragedy about, so it isn’t helpful to look outward and blame others for our suffering. Instead, we can take comfort from our shared experience on earth, and know that as we have been comforted, we too can offer comfort and relief. As the Indian Buddhist master Shakyashri wrote in the 12th Century:

When I am happy, may my merit flow to others –

May its blessings fill the sky!

When I am unhappy, may the sorrows of all beings be mine.

May the ocean of suffering run dry!

Finding Sacred Space

Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown, Executive Director, The Boston Ten Point Coalition

Street memorials are the new churches of our cities. They are created on “sacred space,” on or near the spot where a young man or woman has been murdered. You see mementos of the slain - – a favorite hat, pictures, a piece of jewelry, a CD – as well as candles and cans and bottles of liquor. Groups of young men gather there for “wakes.” They drink, laugh, cry and remember. Others just stand there, as if they were waiting for something to happen. Even good church people will avoid them when they walk near. I think faith communities, however, misunderstand their meaning. Street memorials are more than shrines, they are sanctuaries. Group gatherings create moments where a young teen tries to reach out beyond him or herself to connect with someone they care about. And A gang youth’s first experience with the Spirit is often at a street lamp at night, seeking-out the spirit of their friend. Established, traditional churches, however, seem unaware of this. If Jesus physically re-appeared, I believe his first prayer service would not be conducted not in a mega-church, but on a street corner at 2am.

Cries of Suffering as Calls to Action

Rev. John Nunes, President, Lutheran World Relief

Life isn’t always good, beautiful or fair. But attempting to make sense of tragedies can be as difficult as it is dangerous. Pronouncements that connect the dots of cause and effect don’t help. Judging can lead to blind alleys of blaming victims. Lutheran World Relief, representing eight million Lutheran Christians in the United States, sees suffering not as an occasion for conjecturing about large questions of theodicy, like the reasons for good and evil, or the characteristics of God’s all-goodness versus God’s all-powerfulness. Rather, we hear cries of suffering as calls to action.

Lutherans prefer typically a plainspoken way of calling things what they are. Yes, life can collapse without warning—especially with the increasing shifts of this planet’s weather patterns. Yet, most people living in extreme poverty suffer from the multigenerational catastrophe of an underdevelopment of resources. These long-term living hells won’t be remedied by philosophical analysis or redeemed by externally implemented quick-fixes. As one Lutheran seminary professor put it: “It is false optimism that brings ultimate despair.”

Working alongside vulnerable communities, I’ve arrived at the current hypothesis that the “solution” to suffering is, ironically, often hidden inside the problem, especially as local treasures are recognized and liberated.

I Refused to Submit to Despair

Manal Omar, Program Officer, United States Institute for Peace

Tragedy tests the mind and body, and has an irrevocable impact on the soul. I felt my breaking point after three years in Iraq. Every person I knew had a personal tragedy, and when my husband’s brother-in-law was brutally killed in Baghdad, we had ours. As deeply as I believed that trials and tribulations were an essential part of life, the experiences took their toll. Daunting, existential questions emerged: Why was this happening? Could I have prevented these tragedies? Was there any purpose to work? To life?

Without faith, these questions would have tormented me in a time of darkness. The Quran comforted and reassured me: “Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear.” (Quran 2:286) At the same time, I allowed myself to grieve, to feel the intense pain of loss, and to grapple with hard questions. But I refused to submit to despair. Instead, I used the tenants of my faith to navigate through the dark tunnel of questions and feelings that emerged, and found myself emerging a stronger person each time.

God Has a Greater Purpose

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Tragedies place faith on the witness stand, demanding evidence of a higher purpose, a greater good, while simultaneously asking faith, why? But faith always appears. Faith arrives to listen, comfort, fortify, and bear the onslaught of grief and despair.

We are all privy to the five stages of grief. To each, faith plays a definitive role. To denial, faith says, “Yes, it happened, but all things work for good for all those who believe.” To anger, faith beckons, “Direct your anger at me, I can handle it. For at the end of the day, what you sow in tears, you shall reap with joy.” To bargaining, faith replies, “You can’t change what happened, but know that the size of your blessing is directly proportional to the size of the hell you’ve been through.” To depression, faith answers, “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” And to acceptance, faith says, “Accept the fact that God has a greater purpose. Accept the assurance of Providence’s purpose and accept the greater you that will emerge.”

Our Soul Is Eternal

His Holiness Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, Spiritual Leader, Kauai Hindu Monastery

Major disasters cause everyone to stop and think—think about ourselves, our family, friends, community, nation and the world itself. If our faith is not strong, our thoughts can be negative. People wonder aloud why God would allow such a thing to happen, why good people are suffering so, how can there even be a God if such tragedy can occur on Earth? However, if our faith is strong, then our reflections and our reactions remain positive. From the Hindu point of view, questions of blame and punishment do not arise. God does not punish, does not visit terrible things upon the Earth. It is, after all, His creation. He did give the natural forces on this Earth immense power, yet even these are forces of change and evolution. For Hindus the most terrific of disasters is not some cosmic chastisement, but the rightful unfolding of dharma and destiny. For the devout Hindu, loss and even death, while difficult, are not beyond our ability to accept. After all, our soul is eternal and through its many lives on Earth undergoes a variety of experiences, many joyful, others sorrowful, but it benefits spiritually from all experience, whether seemingly good or bad.

To Be Awakened - to Mourn and to Wonder

Dr. Serene Jones, President, Union Theological Seminary

When it comes to our response to tragedy and the personal losses that accompany tragic events, possibilities range widely. On one side, there are tricks of mind where loss is forthrightly rejected or repressed. Loss manifests itself in addictions; the pleasures of oblivion trump the harshness of loss. On the other side, mind turns loss into an object of relentless reflection. Some call it melancholia; others name it depression.

Between the two lies mourning, a disposition in which your heart and mind give in to the loss and consent to dwell in the tragedy with as much attention as can be mustered. It requires acknowledging how much was lost, how deeply it matters, and how unstable the world has become in the aftermath. It requires full-bodied grieving for what you’ve lost.

But there is not only mourning. Slipping through the web-like cracks that mourning presses onto the surface of tragedy, wonder appears in the simple capacity to behold the world around you and within you, and to be awed by its mystery, made curious by its difference, and to marvel at its compelling form. To be saved in the midst of tragedy is not to be taken elsewhere. It is to be awakened – to mourn and to wonder.

Comfort the Mourner

Nancy Falchuk, President, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America

As an organization that runs hospitals in Israel, Hadassah deals with tragedy on an institutional level every day. As an organization of individuals, we confront tragedy in the way all human beings do. On both of these levels, we are guided and strengthened by Jewish tradition.

On the medical front, whether it is a single illness or accident or dealing with mass casualties or suffering, we are action oriented. The Talmud teaches that saving a single life is akin to saving the world, and it Doesn't matter to us if the lives to be saved are in Israel or Bosnia, in China or Haiti. Our medical staff mobilizes and, where appropriate, our army of volunteers swings into action.

The Jewish tradition of mourning mandates that we surround and comfort the mourner. We offer our own strength so that they can regain their own. Being a part of Hadassah reinforces this Jewish value and we have created a loving family on a mass scale. We suffer from the human inclination to wish tragedy away, but we obey the divine guideline to confront it for the sake of those in need.

The Greatest Tragedy Is Losing God

Imam Vernon Fareed, The Convener of Imams for the Associates of Imam W. Deen Mohammed

When I contemplate tragedy, I begin with the Quran. In Islam, God is ascribed many names and attributes, and expresses Himself to us through them from time to time. Many would prefer that God express Himself only through those attributes like Al-Muhyi (The Giver of Life), Al-Wali (The Protecting Friend), and Al-Mu’eed (The Restorer), but God is also Al-Mumit (The Creator of death) and Al-Muntaqim (The Avenger). God has full expression and He Alone decides what attribute He wants to show and when. If nothing was ever destroyed or torn down, there would never be a need for God to express Himself to us as “The Restorer,” and if no wrong or harm was ever done there would be no need for “The Avenger.”

The greatest tragedy is losing God. But if you can maintain a relationship with the Creator and keep your faith in Him, then you can avoid this tragedy. It also helps to keep in mind that no matter how bad things are for you, there is always someone, somewhere, in a worse situation!

God Is in the Process of Redeeming Both Human Beings and His Creation

Reverend Richard Land, President, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

When I am confronted with human tragedy where my fellow human beings suffer because of natural disasters or the cruel and unjust behavior of their fellow humans, I turn to the Bible for answers.

First, the Bible tells me that natural disasters are not “natural.” The Bible tells us that the “whole creation” is under judgment as a result of the fall of man from his original state (Romans 8:22). Consequently, nothing in nature is as God intended it to be originally. Everyone and everything is distorted, twisted, and marred by that original judgment on sin. So, God’s original creation had neither earthquakes nor tornadoes, neither plagues nor axe murderers.

As a Christian, I believe that God is in the process of redeeming both human beings and His creation through the redemptive work of Jesus. That work commenced with Good Friday and the first Easter, but it continues and will be fulfilled and completed by His Second Advent when He will confirm the redeemed, restore His creation, and judge and condemn evil.

For more inspiring content, check out Radiant Studios’ series An Incomplete Education about a father and daughter attempting to survive after a viral pandemic plagues the world. Despite their circumstances, they ultimately find hope and joy and will inspire you to do the same, no matter what hardships you may be facing today.