The only way is love

Most of us humans, I suspect, have ingrained in us a predilection for signs and omens.  We are, by nature, a superstitious lot. So it shouldn't be surprising that many conversations these days center, not just around the horrific devastation in Japan, and how best to help, but also about the implications of that disaster "for us" (whoever "us" might be).

There are so many questions here: Are we as well prepared as the Japanese people were?  Probably not.  Would we handle it as gracefully as they have? Probably not.  Do we really get how incredibly vulnerable we all are?  Probably not.  Do we have any idea what to do with what we're learning here; any idea where to go or how to proceed?  Probably not.  And how can we possibly help?  Could anything we offer or do even begin to make a difference?

Jesus says, in Luke 11:29, our Bible reading for today,  that the sign of Jonah is the only sign that he will give.  "This is indeed unsatisfying," says Richard Rohr in Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, "For it is not a sign at all, but more an anti-sign.  It demands that we release ourselves into the belly of darkness before we can know what is essential.  It insists that the spiritual journey is more like giving up control than taking control... that we get to the right shore by God's grace more than right action on our part. It is clearly a very disturbing and unsatisfying sign."

This idea of the sign of Jonah seems all too relevant as we mourn all those thousands of bodies washed out to sea by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  What on earth can we do with this knowledge?  How can anything we do even begin to assuage this terrible loss?  And how can we possibly hope to protect ourselves and our loved ones when faced with the reality that we are not in control?

Perhaps the most important message for all of us who have no idea which way to turn, who stand paralyzed with fear and helplessness in the face of this calamity, is that there really is only One Way to cope with this or any other aspect of life.  And that way is Love.  "Ask me any question," says Desmond Tutu in Made for Goodness, "My answer is Love."

"Ask me any question.
My answer is love.
When you want to hear my voice,
Listen for love.
How can you delight me?
I will tell you:
Love.
The tough, unbreakable, unshakable love.
Are you looking for me?
You will find me in love.
Would you know my secrets?
There is only one:
Love.
Do you want to know me?
Do you yearn to follow me?
Do you want to reach me?
Seek and serve love."

Ask me any question:
The answer, my friend, is Love.