Weekly letter from Rod

Dear Friends,

It's hard not to feel the enormity of the tragic bush fire situation. While circumstance and life has kept me from the details, the glimpses and the conversations I've had reveal the shock that pervades. There is a mood of disbelief, vulnerability, andhelplessness all around and the fragility of our existence is evident. While support and willingness to contribute pours in from all sectors of our community and is the primary focus, when things settle down there will be a huge scar on the landscape of our land and our souls.

Life seems to go on. Fire, floods, earthquakes, other natural occurrences along with sickness and physical conditions are present realities. Then there are the ones we have created by tampering with our personal and communal environments, like cancers, drug abuse, physical violence, war, and city smog through to global warming. What is natural and what is human induced? What is our responsibility and what is God's?

In the gospel this week Jesus makes a leper clean and sends him toshow himself to the Priest. Instead he proclaims the story to the whole community. This pushes Jesus away from openly being in the town to remaining on the edge in the country. The one who can heal the sick, command the wind and the waters to "Be still", is vulnerable and endangered by human whim and will. How do we get the two to work together? Co-dependency or Co-creation?

Grace and peace

Rod