The Spiritual Meaning of Natural Disasters
The earth is wounded because of us that conceal ourselves evilly and ever move Thine anger against us, O compassionate King of all. But take pity on Thy servants, O Master.
Behold, we have all sinned, but the earth, which hath not sinned, doth suffer dreadfully; for the Lover of mankind, chastising us, doth shake it all. Let us come to our senses and take care for our salvation.
- from Odes 3 and 9 of the Menaion Canon for 26 October,
in commemoration of the Great Earthquake which struck the Imperial City on that date in A.D. 740
Last month the entire world looked on in shock as a major American city suffered almost complete devastation from a hurricane. Naturally this terrible event sparked many and varied responses, especially a great deal of controversy regarding whose fault it was that New Orleans and the surrounding area was not better prepared for such a disaster.
As Orthodox Christians, we should avoid passionate argument about such things and rather ask ourselves what the spiritual meaning of such events is. Catastrophes of this magnitude always tempt those of no faith or weak faith to ask, “Why does God allow such things to happen?” while they also tempt the zealous but spiritually unwise to attach specific blame to a few people: “Well if those people in New Orleans were not so sinful, this would not have happened to them." Orthodoxy, possessing the fullness of the truth, provides the corrective to the limited viewpoints represented by both of these responses.
God did not create evil. Evils in the world, whether moral evil or physical evil, are the result of man’s collaboration with the rebellion of Satan. God created the world entirely good and placed man in Paradise as the crown of creation. Man’s revolt against God poisoned and continues to poison the entire physical universe, and as the generations pass, and sin piles up exponentially, the cosmic disorder grows greater and greater. Only very great repentance on man’s part can heal nature, but man grows more and more lawless with every passing generation. Can one truly wonder why nature herself has turned upon man to devour him? This is a natural result of our destruction of nature’s harmony by means of our unbridled passions, and furthermore it is allowed by God to call us back to our senses: to shock us into remembering that this life is short, that death is certain, that judgment is eternal.
Natural disasters are not the result of only one nation’s or city’s or person’s sin, but the result of the sins of the whole world, going back to the beginning. Everyone is born into this great web of evil, corruption, and death; everyone needs to realize his true situation, to seek God, to do His holy will. Apart from Christ and His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, there is no escape from death for any man who has ever lived or ever will live. Whether you die from hurricane winds and floods now or peacefully in bed later, when you do die, it will seem as if this life had never been, and the only thing that will matter is your fate for all eternity. This is the real lesson hidden in every misfortune great or small.
Sorrows Deliver Us from Pride
Pride is a very loathsome sin before the Lord. The devil had not murdered or stolen, or committed adultery of some other sin of that kind. He had only become proud, and this single sin turned him from a bright angel into a dark satan. God sends us suffering to deliver us from this deadly pride. How much should we thank God for the sorrows which He sends us to humble and save us!
Through sorrows God protects us from many great troubles. Those who do not know sickness, grief, or failure become presumptuous and proud.
A story is told of a very pious priest who once said to one of his parishioners who was living in luxury and did not know sorrow and suffering: “God has left you, wretched man of fortune; pray to Him to send you some punishment, so that you will be delivered from your complacency and pride.” Not long after that, the home of that rich man burned. He cried a lot, and pondering on the words of the good priest, accepted God’s punishment with humility. That punishment was a true blessing for him, and from that day on he became a good Christian. In this way sorrow saved him. The words of Moses proved true for him: When thou art in tribulation…if thou turn to the Lord thy God and shalt be obedient unto His voice…He will not forsake thee (Deut. 4:30,31). How much wisdom do sufferings bring in life! It is only through them that a man becomes wiser, as the Psalmist writes: Before I was humbled, I transgressed, therefore Thy saying have I kept (Ps. 118:67).
-from The Meaning of Suffering by Archimandrite Seraphim