On Sunday I biked over to Spanish Bay and was pleased to see all the surfers, bobbing in the blustery waters, waiting for waves.

In a time of social distancing and “Shelter in Place” orders, surfing seems to be the only group sport remaining.  You’re constantly “washing” your hands, after all.  And when you’ve finally done for the day, every surfer has their own personal locker room – their cars and vans, parked on 17 Mile Drive.

Why do surfers go out there – especially on blustery, wild days when waves are unpredictable, random, even dangerous?

That’s exactly why!

Surfers want to ride one of the most powerful forces in nature – ocean waves.   They align themselves with the power of those waves and conquer the randomness of the ocean.

That’s exactly our situation today.   We’re bobbing in The Ocean of Randomness:  the unpredictability of this virus, uncertainties about jobs and finances, upheaval to social and family lives.   But within all this uncertainty there is a real and wonderful power at work – a wave that we can ride.

That wave is the love of God.  God’s love has many dimensions, all called for in this moment:  healing, reconciling, resourcing, guiding, giving hope, resurrection.

My theology will not blame God for this destructive virus – – God’s power permits the randomness of nature and the freedom of human will.  But, I do know God’s love is at work within this ocean of randomness.   As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 8: “We know that in everything God works for good. . .”

God is in this moment.  Our challenge, like those surfers,  is to align ourselves with God’s love and power, and ride the wave with him.