An earthquake in New Zealand, a country already shocked and rocked by a recent mining disaster. 

An earthquake in Japan along with widespread tsunami warnings.

A reminder that humanity will never subdue - as in control - the earth.

A reminder of the frailty and vulnerability of life as people going about their daily lives either have them extinguished in a moment or slowly ebbed away from mortal wounds or impossibility of rescue.

Reading Angela's blog post of Psalm 46 I found myself pondering also 1 Kings 19.  At first sight/hearing the two may not seem to connect, not least as in the 1 Kings passage the LORD is notably absent from the earthquake, wind and fire but is detected in 'the sound of sheer silence' (NRSV).  On (brief) reflection I think perhaps they don't disagree but have different emphases.

Psalm 46, in the crude Catriona translation says " even though the world is in turmoil and earthquakes, wind and fire disturb you" ... "shut up, stop what you're doing and listen... I AM still God and I AM still in charge" 

It isn't that God abandons us to the consequences of the earthquakes, wind and fire, I am sure God is very present within them, it is that God is sometimes silently present.  Maybe we'd like God to say 'desist' to the storm, like Jesus did on Lake Gennesaret, but most likely God says, silently, "I AM here, I AM with you, it hurts me too..."

"Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire, speak through the earthquake, wind and fire, oh still small voice of calm."

Let's pray for people affected by these latest human tragedies that they will not feel abandoned (by the world as well as God) and for ourselves that our responses will bring lasting transformation and not be mere, soul salving rhetoric.