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Overcoming tragedies

“Change the way you are living and stop doing the things you are doing. Be fair of your treatment of one another. Stop taking advantage of aliens, orphans, and widows. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop worshiping other gods, for that will destroy you. If you change I will let you go on living here in the land which I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.” — Jeremiah 7:5-11

Land of Tragedies

Our country has turned into a land of tragedies, series of tragic events that claimed hundreds of precious human lives. After the Ultra stampede that left 79 people dead, mostly old women and children, and hundreds injured, a massive landslide in Southern Leyte followed burying hundreds of people alive. This is not to mention the natural and man-made tragedies in previous years, and the hundreds of social activists this past two years brutally killed in cold blood allegedly by those who are supposed to be “protectors of the people”.

For the Israelites in the Holy Scriptures, tragedies characterized their own history. Judah, for instance, fell into the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BC. The City of Jerusalem was looted and destroyed, and the people were carried away to Babylon as captives. However, the Israelites were able to survive the Babylonian Exile. One of the reasons was the fact that Prophet Jeremiah helped them overcome their tragedies.

Perhaps, we could also learn from the experiences of the Israelites on how to deal with our own tragedies.

Dealing With Tragedies

Firstly, Prophet Jeremiah had no illusions about the real situation of Judah. He saw that a disaster was coming. However, his announcement was met with opposition from other prophets and leaders who tried to convince the people that there was no reason to worry. He was in opposition to other prophets of the royal court, like Hananiah, who were prophesying a prosperous and peaceful future. Jeremiah criticized them saying: “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches. ‘All is well’, they say, when all is not well.” (Jer. 7:11).

We are told that the people of Southern Leyte were warned about the impending disaster, but apparently, they did not take it seriously. Environmental activists kept on reminding our people in government to impose the total log ban to prevent the repeat of the Ormoc tragedy several years ago, but it seems that no one really cares.

Secondly, Jeremiah did not only prophesy the disaster, he also announced the reasons for it. He believed that injustice and idolatry would finally lead to the destruction of their country. He believed that there is a correlation between their action and their destiny.

We reap what we sow the saying goes. I think we have no one to blame for our countries’ tragedies other than ourselves. Collectively as a people, we have to accept that we have not been good and responsible stewards of God’s creation. Indeed, we only get the kind of nation that we deserve.

Thirdly, Jeremiah also opened up the future for his contemporaries. The people of Judah were already resigned to their fate. They believed that the tragedy they were experiencing was the consequence of the sins of their fathers (cf. Lam. 5:7).

This view could lead them to paralysis. Nothing could be done anymore, except to suffer quietly. However, Prophet Jeremiah announced a new teaching: that everyone would be judged according to his own doings (cf. Jer. 31:29-30). Instead of just suffering the consequence of sins long committed, the people themselves had to shape their own future.

Optimistic people often say, “Behind the clouds, the sun is still shining”. Hope makes people survive in the midst of tragedies.

Victor Frankl said that those who survive Hitler’s concentration camps in Germany are those who have living hope – that after the war they will go back to their own families and continue living.

Finally, Jeremiah was able to find meaning in the tragedy. The destruction of Judah was not a useless destruction after all. It was meant to teach the people a lesson in life albeit the hard way. The people did not listen to the Deuteronomistic historians and the prophets who warned them earlier. However, as they suffered in the hands of the Babylonians, the people of Judah realized their mistakes and beg for God’s mercy to give them a second chance.

I think the best way to overcome tragedies in life is to find meaning in them. The best way to deal with tragedies is to learn our lessons. Philosopher George Santayana reminds us that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Perhaps, one of the reasons why tragedies kept on coming to our country is because we are not learning our lessons. We have to learn our lessons; we owe it to the victims of tragedies in our country. If we do, then, their deaths would not be in vain.

Learning Our Lesson

The Israelites’ experiences teach us at least four lessons on how to overcome our own tragedies in life. We should accept our tragic experiences without any illusion. We should not blame others for own tragedies; rather we should look at our own responsibility. We should have hope that even after the tragedy we are still in charge of our own destiny. We should find meaning in the tragedy that would help us to do better given a second chance.

These are the hard lessons that made the Israelites withstand their tragedies in life. I do believe these lessons could also help us deal with our own.#

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