My older brother John lives in Antigua Guatemala, and has for over two years. He’s gotten used to the huffing and puffing of Volcán de Fuego ten miles away. In fact, the not infrequent plumes of ash and steam, the occasional red glow at the top of the mountain visible from rooftops at night, are part of what makes life in Antigua so nice.
Members of our Guatemala mission teams play tourist in Antigua for 20 hours or so at the end of our week of service. Antigua is a nice place.
This past Sunday’s eruption of Fuego was the most violent in over forty years. It was not a show to thrill the tourists. It was deadly and destructive; hundreds of lives have been lost and entire villages destroyed. While the lava and pyroclastic flows were on the west side of the volcano, away from Antigua, the town was on edge and all Guatemala with it.
As this past week unfolded, the news of what had happened on the other side of the mountain spread to Antigua and the world even as the people of Antigua swept the volcanic ash from their city. Fuego rumbled again Tuesday and the anxious city waited.
My brother has done a good job of keeping friends and family aware of how he is doing and of what things are like in his new hometown. Some of us, friends and family, have been a bit worried, and John has been calm. There are times when social media is a wonderful gift.
Yesterday morning, Thursday, Brother John posted the photo you see above. I suppose it was taken from his house or maybe on an early walk around town. His caption was those words you’ve read, “Good morning – we’ll see what happens.”
John, you’re a fine practical theologian.
Fuego may not be done with this season of violent eruptions. Perhaps the more likely possibility is that the volcano will return to its everyday life of entertaining the tourists in Antigua. Villages will rebuild, some way too close to the foot of the mountain. And death should not be forgotten.
Tragic disaster or daily routine, we’ll see what happens. This is not an invitation to irresponsibility or apathy. It is an invitation to reality and to trust. Thursday morning dawned clear, and waiting to see what the day might bring was the right thing to do.
Jesus told the people to look at the birds of the air and then to consider the lilies of the field. He said, “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31-34)
Problem-solving, planning-ahead Americans have a hard time with what Jesus taught. For sure, there are days whose sufficient troubles include problem solving and planning ahead. Being anxious about tomorrow, though, is a waste of the gift of today. Some days call us to prayer or to write a check for volcano relief. We need to allow tomorrow to be anxious for itself.
Brother John woke up yesterday morning to a few puffs of steam from Fuego. As he said, it was a good morning. Fuego may have been relatively quiet. Much else happened, though, and John’s job and yours and mine was to make the most of that day (Ephesians 5:15-16).
Sunday looks to be a good day. We’ve planned and prepared. We’ll see what God makes happen. See you then.
LPC people have heard of the compassionate emergency response of our mission partners in Guatemala, Promised Land Ministries and Misioneros Cristianos Unidos, and how we can help. A special offering will be received this Sunday.