I was listening to WMBD this morning before work, and Greg and Dan were grappling with a question I’ve heard several times now about Hurricane Katrina and now Rita. I’ll paraphrase it here: “Are these hurricanes God’s judgement on the sinfulness of the people living/partying there?” That’s a pretty heady question to tackle on the radio between Apple Blossom Farm commercials and and CEFCU Traffic One updates.

But I’ll take a stab in the blogosphere at answering this question from a conservative Christian viewpoint: I don’t think these hurricanes are specific judgements from God.

First of all, judgements from God are generally supernatural, not natural disasters. If New Orleans were to be destroyed by fire and brimstone falling from the sky, or if an angel of death were to smite the firstborn of every family there, then I’d say it was God’s judgement. But I don’t believe God was the direct causitive force behind the hurricane.

Secondly, something similar happened in Jesus’s time. In Luke 13:1-5, it says this:

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Isn’t that interesting? I think it’s completely in keeping with this scripture to imagine this conversation with Jesus today. It would go something like this:

Someone reports to Jesus about the people who were killed in the hurricane down in New Orleans, and Jesus says, “Do you suppose that these Americans were greater sinners than all other Americans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those 3,000 on whom the World Trade Center fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in New York? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Jesus asks that penetrating question that people have been asking for centuries whenever disaster strikes: Did this happen because those people were worse sinners than everyone else? Was this divine vengeance on these people?

And Jesus, who often doesn’t answer questions directly, gives us a direct answer to this one: “I tell you, no.” I love the simplicity of that answer. “No!” By implication, “No, it’s not divine vengeance, and no, they’re not worse sinners than you. You’re just as sinful as they are.” And he follows that up with the ominous words, “but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Jesus is exposing a judgemental attitude here. He’s saying, in essence, “stop judging those people just because they met a tragic end. Take a look at yourselves! You’re not any better than they are. You are the ones who need to repent.” It kind of reminds me of that other verse that is so often quoted, “Judge not, lest ye be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matt. 7:1-2)

So, I don’t think the hurricanes are a specific judgement of God on New Orleans or even the United States in general. But, the hurricanes do remind us of our own mortality and that life is short. That should give us pause to consider what our own fate will be when we die: is there life after death? Is there a God to whom I’m accountable? Am I ready to meet him?