God the good sends warnings
10/01/2009

On Tuesday a tsunami hit the Samoan Islands.  Today a guest columnist for the NY Times, Fia Sigiel, wrote the following account of her uncle Opi's attempt to warn four elderly women of  impending danger.  His warning fell on deaf ears.  The women laughed and waved, "Have faith, Opi!  God is good!"

"Opi starts every morning by walking through the village. 'The quake hit as I was stretching at the gas station,' he said. 'I warned Noelle to lock up and leave as soon as she could. I knew there would be big waves because the quake shook for a good five to six minutes.' As he left Noelle’s store, he waved to four old women weaving mats in a small fale — a Samoan thatched-roof shelter — across the street. 'Go home!' he told them. 'There’s going to be a wave coming soon.' But the old women just laughed and called out: 'Have faith, Opi! God is good!'

"When he got up to his house, he heard a crash, as if something had fallen from the sky. Looking down toward the village, he saw the gigantic wave advancing onto the land. He ran toward the fale to get to the four women. But as he passed the dispensary, he realized how strong the wave was, and knew that no matter how fast he ran, they would not be there.

"'Still, I couldn’t stop running,' Opi said. 'I just wanted to see them one more time. These women are always there at the fale. Every morning I do my rounds of the village, they are always there. Waving at me and I wave back at them.'

"Before he even reached the village, the water was already up to his waist. 'I knew the fate of those women,' he said. 'I just wish I could have done something more. I could have gone over to them and taken them away from the fale with me in the first place. But the waves hit so fast. One minute I was waving at those old women and the next minute, they were gone.'”

I too believe God is good; that the universe is informed by a benign intelligence that cares for each and every one of us, all creatures great and small.  This intelligence warns us of dangers ahead; that is part of its goodness.  At this time in human history, there are many warnings of the unsustainable path we are treading: global warming, habitat decline, species collapse, drought, desertification, unbridled consumerism, wars fought over resources.  Let's heed these warnings and begin to live more respectfully, share more generously, consume more modestly.  So that we may all survive any coming flood.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/opinion/01figiel.html?ref=opinion