I love math. Well, I loved math in middle and high school. Throughout the school year, I would (proudly) participate in math club activities and engineering competitions. I solved math problems like puzzles and loved that (almost) everything had a solution.
I still love it when I can solve a problem. I love when I can figure out how things fit together when A + B = C; yet, I am finding that more often than not, I can't give a reason for why things happen.
Perhaps some of you have heard the phrase "everything happens for a reason." It is a common response to someone going through something particularly difficult. Growing up in East Tennessee, I heard it often.
Have you ever used this phrase? Has someone said this phrase to you? Or a similar phrase?
For our first Summer Book Club at St. Paul's, we discussed Kate Bowler's book
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved.
Her dissertation on the
prosperity gospel
serves as a springboard for this book. The prosperity gospel "emphasizes believers' abilities to transcend poverty and/or illness through devotion and positive confession." Some would say this gospel preaches that everything does happen for a reason and that God shines favor on those who are deserving.
Are you familiar with the prosperity gospel? Perhaps you are familiar with the idea but not the actual name?
What is your response to the prosperity gospel? Does it bring you comfort and joy? Does it make you irritated and discouraged?
I think we can explain some things according to our limited understanding of the world; but, I urge each of us to consider what it means to (not) settle for simple answers and explanations.
During this time of COVID-19 as well as our current political movement, how do you think "everything happens for a reason" has been used to explain what is happening?
What is an alternative to the prosperity gospel?
I believe that the prosperity gospel is harmful to so many people, especially those who are oppressed. Everything happens for a reason may bring solace to those who live comfortably or extravagantly; however,
what does this mean for those who are directly and negatively affected by the systemic issues of racism and classism?
God is always with us- in the good, the bad, the joys, and the sufferings, God is there. This doesn't mean that life is always easy nor that it will "make sense." We have a responsibility to continue living the way of love that Jesus modeled for us. This doesn't mean waiting for God to shine favor on us; but rather, this means ceaselessly dismantling the notion that everything happens for a reason.
Some things happen for reasons that are, in fact, within our human control. Some things happen because we become passive participants in a world that is not caring for
the least of these.
Life is not a series of "proofs" or "puzzles" to be solved. Life is to be lived, each moment at a time. When our human tendency to sin gets in our way, we become distracted by achieving worldly power and wealth at the expense of others.
Vote. Pray. Protest. Have conversations. Donate money. Donate time. Respect the dignity of everyone, especially those whose dignity has been stolen for centuries.
When we question the status quo that is unfair and unequal, we move past "everything happens for a reason" towards some things happen because we are radically seeking justice. Jesus didn't settle for the status quo and I hope that we do not either.
This week, consider how you view God. Do you believe God to have everything planned? Do you believe that humans can choose their own actions? How does your understanding of God inform how you live your life?
A prayer* for today:
Open unto me—light for my darkness.
Open unto me—courage for my fear.
Open unto me—hope for my despair.
Open unto me—peace for my turmoil.
Open unto me—joy for my sorrow.
Open unto me—strength for my weakness.
Open unto me—wisdom for my confusion.
Open unto me—forgiveness for my sins.
Open unto me—love for my hates.
Open unto me—thy Self for my self.
Lord, Lord, open unto me!
Amen
.
*Howard Thurman (1900-1981)
