Occasionally I have  a "God Moment".  Something happens and I get chills up my spine. That was my experience when I read today's gospel reading on Thursday of this week. Jesus says there "take care! Be on your guard. A person's life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions". The destruction of the I 35 bridge last Wednesday demonstrated the truth of Jesus words. Every one of us has been deeply affected by this event. What does our life consist of if it is not possessions? What are we to think and how are we to respond, as people of faith?

First, it is extremely important for us to see the present calamity in its true perspective-that from the perspective of biblical truth and faith. Although we all feel tremendous emotions at a time like this, which are both understandable and appropriate, emotions alone are inadequate. We need to reflect deeply and adopt a biblical perspective.

Most of us long for a deep sense of confidence and security. The big question is, ?where can we find this?' According to Jesus not in things-objects, institutions, resources. In the last few years a number of events have altered our assumptions, exposing the fragility and vulnerability of our lives, demonstrating the inability of things that we may have relied upon in the past, for security. 9/11 certainly had that effect. But so have others; what is happening to health care, pensions, economic downturns, rising oil prices, bioterrorism scares etc. etc.  More recently the suffering and deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina, the London underground bombings and scares about people planning to carry liquid explosives onto transatlantic flights have reinforced the uncertainty and unpredictability of life. But this week we had our own homegrown disaster. The destruction of the I35 bridge in Minneapolis on Wednesday, with the attendant shock, horror, fear and deep uncertainty, are a wakeup call to us all reinforcing the uncertainty and unpredictability of life.

In contrast to widely held assumptions, in the Bible God makes clear that suffering is an authentic part of human experience. We are not to seek it out; but it will come to us in one form or another. Terrorism, war, sickness or other suffering, (human induced or not) will confront us all at some stage of our life. We are mistaken if we compare war, terrorist attacks, accidents, violence or a terrible hurricane with "normal life' as if they were different realities. Human life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow, weakness and strength, victory and defeat.  Life has never been normal in the sense of being unrelievedly tranquil, easy and comfortable. Even those periods, which we think as being most tranquil - the 1950's and 1960's, turn out on closer inspection to have been full of uncertainty and crises (Berlin, Korea, Hungary, China, the Cold War, Mac Carthyism, assassinations of JFK. MLK.  Vietnam, Kent State,).

The collapse of this bridge-a structure that many of us have crossed hundreds of times cause us, consciously or unconsciously, to wonder ?in such an uncertain world, is there anything that we can we depend upon for security and stability?' On my way to the church today how many bridges did I cross-how many bridges do you cross as you travel to work or school every day? What has happened of course is that the fundamental insecurity of life, which was always there, but could be ignored, has forcefully become a reality to us.  So the question of security for us is not one of idle curiosity, but of existential need.

Religious people in particular, can and often do, get it wrong when it comes to security and God.

C.S.Lewis,  preached a sermon at the time of outbreak of war in Europe in 1939. His words seem very applicable for today.

"War does do something to death. It forces us to remember it. The only reason why cancer at sixty or paralysis at seventy-five does not bother us is that we forget them. War( or the collapse of a bridge over the Mississippi)) makes death real to us, and that would have been regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past. They thought it good for us to be always aware of our mortality. I am inclined to think they were right. ..In ordinary times only a wise man can realize it. Now the stupidest of us knows. We see unmistakably the sort of universe in which we have all been living, and must come to terms with it...

 ("Learning in War Time" in ?The Weight of Glory' p. 62-3).

We need to check out our own assumptions about the security that we have in God. Yes, there is security, sustaining strength and unshakable hope available to us in Christ, but perhaps not quite in the way that we unthinkingly imagine. A naïve, kindergarten faith may be very appropriate for a child of 5, but is potentially dangerous for an adult. Why? Because at some critical moment it will fail us; and be revealed for what it is - a fantasy, a myth. Events from September 11^th on powerfully demonstrate that evil is real, alive and active-it must be taken seriously. If there is no place in our faith or theology for evil and its apparent triumph, then our faith is defective. Hurricane Katrina powerfully demonstrated that innocent people can and do suffer and die even if they are followers of Christ.

My plea today is that we grow up as Christians; that we allow the events of last week to bless us as well as causing fear and grief. How? By allowing  our faith to be deepened and refined, our characters transformed, our thinking renewed as we engage with God not in a superficial feel-good sort of way but at much deeper and more demanding of levels.

When it became clear that the Roman Empire was about to fall to the Barbarians in the fifth century, many contemporary Christians felt betrayed by God; their world  was about to be destroyed, along, they assumed, with God's kingdom. Some wondered if their faith in God was worthless or without foundation. St Augustine in his greatest work, "The City of God", reminded all that the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world are neither the same nor inextricably related -that "though the earth be shaken" yet God would still be unmoved and in control.

There is no final security outside of God.  But also God offers us no permanent security in this world. We are mortal. We will die, if not from a terrorist bomb then from cancer, heart attack, accident or old age.

So what security is offered to us in Christ? Firstly, the security of a God who cares:  a God who is personally acquainted with suffering in Christ, who assures us of his abiding presence in our pain, fears, hardships and vulnerability. "I will never leave you or forsake you" This is God's commitment to each of us. Suffering may come but God will be there with us. The well known hymn "How Firm A Foundation" has one stanza in which God declares:

The soul that to Jesus hath fled for repose.

I will not, I will not desert to its foes;

That soul, though all hell shall endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake.

Secondly, we are offered total security-but not for this life! If we chase after the mirage of total security for this life we may miss out on everlasting security. We are assured both of the reality of the life to come and of our participation in that life. Jesus promise of life beyond the grave is utterly dependable, no if, buts or maybes:

"I am the resurrection and the life.

Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,

And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:26)

Conclusion.

Real security is not possible without a mature faith.

God offers us the utter security of citizenship in a kingdom that can never be shaken. It is not America, it is not even in this world but in Christ we are offered an anchor which holds against all storms even death.

Let us pray.

God of all wisdom and might, We pray for ourselves and our children. Calm our fears, comfort our sorrow, and guide our response.  Set us at the difficult task of studying and rebuilding for the future. We pray for those in leadership; for our governor and mayors, for state and federal agencies, and for coordination of services in the immediate and distant future. . May the Holy Spirit so direct their counsels and actions that calm and confidence may prevail. May we not only seek to be loyal and supportive citizens but also faithful followers and trusting servants of yours. Amen