Like many others, I have been watching the dramatic photographs coming out of Colorado. I don’t have too many friends who live in the Boulder area and the ones that I do have been able to contact me by e-mail to assure me that they are doing OK in the midst of all of that rainwater and mud rushing by in the creeks and streams. There are a lot of roads washed out and a lot of property damage, but so far only four people have lost their lives. Still, the use of the word “only” makes no sense to those who loved the ones who died. There grief is no less than the grief of people who lose loved ones in tragedies with bigger numbers.

There are some big numbers associated with the floods. Some have predicted that flood recovery could cost as much as a billion dollars. That is a lot of money. Some places got 18 inches of rain in three days – more than the average annual rainfall. That is a lot of water. Before too long people will start to count the number of vehicles, the number of houses destroyed, the number of buildings damaged, but repairable and on and on.

And there are still quite a few people who remember the flood of the Big Thompson in 1976 that still holds the record for the most fatalities in a flood event in the United States.

As usual, you don’t have to look far in this world to find crisis and tragedy. There are small business owners in New Jersey who are trying to figure out what the next steps will be after a fire ravaged a section of the boardwalk. After making a partial comeback from Superstorm Sandy, the boardwalk didn’t do as much business as had been the case in the past and then 50 or so businesses were destroyed or damaged by a huge fire that burned more than four blocks of the business district.

Hard times and tragedies leave people wondering how much they can take. It is not uncommon to hear people paraphrase 1 Corinthians 10:13 when others are facing trials. The most common paraphrase goes something like, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” The actual verse is a bit different: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” The problem with the text and with the paraphrases that come out if it is that we live in such an individualized culture that we think that we have to bear the burdens of this life alone. It doesn’t take much observation of the great tragedies of this world to come up with examples of people who have been crushed by tragedy. There are some very important elements in the letter to the Corinthians that provide a much different understanding of how God works in the midst of human tragedy.

If you read through the lamentations and stories of the dark times in the history of our people, you will find that even when Israel suffered political defeat, even when the people faced exile and the loss of loved ones, they discovered that God continued to be faithful. The words “God is faithful,” are critical in understanding the potential of being overcome. In the darkest moments of our story – in the times when it is hard to see God’s presence and purpose – God continues to be God. God continues to be faithful. Sometimes we can’t see it in the present moment and it is only visible from the advantage of looking back on events after they have passed. But God is always faithful in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

Also key to understanding the text is what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say you have to bear temptation or suffering or loss alone. When people isolate themselves from community and try to take all of the burdens upon themselves, they can be crushed. Since we know that God is faithful, we don’t have to bear the full weight of tragedy alone. And God not only grants presence, but also surrounds us with community. In Colorado and in New Jersey, and in the places of tragedy, loss and suffering around the world, people learn to draw together and to help one another. Along with the stories of tragedy are stories of community – of people helping one another.

So today as we worship we will add our prayers to the prayers of others and remember our connections to those who suffer. And as the recovery continues we will look for the presence and faithfulness of God in the midst of tragedy and loss and hard times.

Once again yesterday we paused to remember a tragedy that occurred in our community a little more than two years ago. In the late summer of 2011, officers James McCandless and Nick Armstrong were killed in the line of duty. The community rallied around the families and friends of the fallen officers. We’ve had a couple of years for the healing process to work its way through the community, but it is a tragedy that will not be forgotten. So at the “Battle of the Badges” first responders’ softball tournament yesterday, we began with the families of the slain officers throwing out the ceremonial first pitches and we all paused to remember. It was a day of recreation for many of our community’s first responders. These are pretty competitive guys, so it made sense to organize a tournament that gave plenty of chances for them to compete. Some teams played as many as five games in the day as they worked their way through the tournament.

Here in Rapid City, we had a day of recreation and fun for officers and for their families. But we were not unaware of the events in other communities and the officers in other places who were working overtime, battling exhaustion and playing a vital role in communities facing tragedy.

In all of the places God is present. In all of these places, God is faithful.

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