Three

Three


I woke up today intending to write about the Trinity for this post... but when I got into the car to go and officiate at a funeral, I noticed these threes:

[Photo shows the car's mileage reading - 86333]

Three threes, on the day I'm writing about 'three'.

What a coincidence!

Or, a 'God-incidence', as I've heard in the past, which fits with the idea that God's hand was in it - and that 'everything happens for a reason'.

Except, things don't all happen for a reason.

It's a phrase that we've probably all used, but if we stick to that idea - that everything happens for a reason, and that God wills all things to happen, we can quickly run into problems...

Does God choose to make us experience difficult times, sending us suffering and pain to help us to learn (or, worse, to punish us)?
...it's all a little more complex than that (though, the short answer is 'no').

Here's a couple of people discussing this idea:

Katharine Dell - God and Covid-19

Kate Bowler - TED talk


Yes, we are able to learn, and grow, and show the best side of humanity, through difficult and tragic times. But that doesn't mean God wants or causes our suffering.


Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Amen.

[Prayer from here.]

♫ The third movement of Brahms' Symphony no. 3