{"id":79,"date":"2017-10-18T15:11:10","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T21:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/elcaracialjustice\/?p=79"},"modified":"2017-10-18T15:11:36","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T21:11:36","slug":"reflection-aftermath-hurricane-maria-dr-rev-rafael-malpica-padilla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/elcaracialjustice\/reflection-aftermath-hurricane-maria-dr-rev-rafael-malpica-padilla\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria by Dr. Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla"},"content":{"rendered":"

The title of the 1939 f<\/span>ilm classic, \u201cGone with the Winds,\u201d is a very good descriptor for what I witnessed in Puerto Rico. Maria, a category 5 hurricane, wreaked havoc in Puerto Rico. The destruction caused by powerful winds and ravaging floods was catastrophic. It will take years to recover from this disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Maria took away many things from us: the comfort of daily life most people took for granted, such as electricity, running water, communication; having access to food or a cold drink to refresh after a hot day; access to health care facilities, schools, entertainment. Many things were gone with the winds of Maria. But Maria also gave us something as well: busy lives came to a halt giving people time to engage in conversation with family members and neighbors; people began to help one another and to share the little resources available to them. In short, Maria gave us the other, our neighbor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In Christ, God restored community with humankind. In this gracious act God freed us from sin. It was an act of liberation from our estrangement from God and from one another. God frees us from our self-centeredness so that we could focus our attention on our neighbor in need. This is what I saw in Puerto Rico, the neighbor turning to the neighbor; the neighbor finding God\u2019s presence in the helping neighbor. All, \u00a0together, finding God in the face of the other, the suffering other, the helping other, the other newly discovered in the midst of this tragedy. Neighbor-love, a central feature in Luther\u2019s theology and of our confessional identity has been the basic framework used in the relief efforts in many of our communities and neighborhoods. Whether people call it by that name or something else, this is what Maria gave to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>As we look forward we should not attempt to replace what was gone with the wind. We must apply the lesson learnt from this experience to rebuild our electrical grind, our communication systems, our homes and businesses. But there is one old thing that we must use in our rebuilding efforts; we should claim neighbor-love as the catalyst for our reconstruction. This year that we observe the 500 Anniversary of the Reformation, let us not just remember the historical event. Let\u2019s reclaim the socio-economic impact of this movement for the rebuilding of lives and communities in the Europe of the Reformers, and in the Puerto Rico after Maria.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe are afflicted in every way, but not crushed\u2026 struck down, but not destroyed\u2026\u201d 2Cor 4:8<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Pax et bonum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla. serves as Executive Director for Global Mission for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The title of the 1939 film classic, \u201cGone with the Winds,\u201d is a very good descriptor for what I witnessed in Puerto Rico. Maria, a category 5 hurricane, wreaked havoc in Puerto Rico. The destruction caused by powerful winds and ravaging floods was catastrophic. It will take years to recover from this disaster. \u00a0Maria took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReflection in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria by Dr. Rev. 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