In the past several years, the world has witnessed the horror of two massive tsunamis, first in Indonesia and more recently in Japan. The loss of life and devastation surpass what most can imagine. Those in other parts of the world are now learning about the fear with which our Asian neighbors have lived for centuries as they have experienced “minor” tsunamis and the terror that accompanies even small earthquakes and tsunami warnings.
In the Scriptures, prayers, and hymns of our tradition, our psalmists and poets described dire situations in the most compelling words they could find—a flood of mortal ills, as in the summer drought, a famine of compassion, life shaken as by an earthquake. Some images have become so familiar that we may no longer be moved by these stark words. Even so, one must be cautious when using analogies or metaphors that mirror such tragedies, recognizing that the effects of physical disaster differ from the results of the dire situations writers attempt to describe.
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