Force Majeure

Okay. Here's what I know so far:

There hasn't been a storm like this in our country in 42 years. There are now 25 provinces inundated by the floods it has caused. At least five thousand people are stranded in the Trinoma mall alone. And, just now, it has been pointed out that tropical storm Ondoy "falls under hurricane category 4. Katrina was only category 3."

Tomorrow, the national Bar and Licensure Exams for teachers have been cancelled. Victory Christian Fellowship has called off their Sunday services. And I, as pastor of MHCC, am contemplating the wisdom of following suit.

Tonight our young adults' fellowship, U-Turn, was called off, and even our ministry head for that group had been stranded in traffic along Roxas Blvd. for 5 hours the last time I checked on her.

As I type these words, thousands of families' lives and properties have been literally upturned and / or submerged. And at least one family is weeping over the plight of their 6-day old child who was buried under their collapsed house. We are still waiting for word on that child's condition. And I am still praying.

My feelings at this point are mixed - deep sadness for our countrymen, revulsion at the sight of chocolate-brown waters in which our people swim and move and live, gratefulness for having my whole family with me safe and sound in our concrete fourth-floor home, vicariously anxious for all the people who are still braving rain and traffic and floods just to get home.

As I watch the live news broadcasts from the Kapuso channel, I am at once in awe and in tears with their field reporter Susan Enriquez. Even as she interviews the flood victims, you can clearly see that she, herself, feels their pain and, in spite of herself, weeps with them on camera. It's not an act you see. In times like these, it's actually appropriate.

The legal world has a name for Ondoy and the unstoppable havoc he has wreaked upon our nation - "Force Majeure".

Wikipedia gives this definition - Force Majeure (French for "superior force"), also known as cas fortuit (French) or casus fortuitus (Latin), is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war,strike, riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term "act of God" (e.g., flooding, earthquake, volcano), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract.

Did you catch its other name? An "act of God".

Amazing. The same harmless, life-giving water in a glass, the same cool breeze that refreshes on a hot summer day... can become an invincible, lethal attack of nature when unleashed by the mighty Hand of the Living God. No wonder the Bible says that Job's anguished questions were all silenced when he heard God speak to him "out of the storm".

So what's my point? I'm not really sure I have one, to be honest.

All I know is, in light of all the events of this day, my heart cannot help but remember these words from the OT prophet Micah -

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

May the Lord have mercy on those who, in light of this sheer display of God's power, still have the gall to 'play God' - taking advantage of their fellowmen, refusing to lift a finger to help those in need.

And may He hear the cries of the oppressed, the homeless, the helpless and those who are despairing for life.

O LORD, our great and mighty God, have mercy upon our people.

Still the wind and the rain.

Heal our land once again.

Amen.