2009 Year in Review
Rev. Tom Harris
December 27, 2009
I’d like to use the sermon today to review a few events that happened in the world over the past year and offer some reflections on where God was at work. These highlights are far from exhaustive and there are many things that probably should be included but are not. I put this together by going to Wikipedia and looking up the entry for 2009. Of the dates and events listed there I probably picked 1 out of 5.
January 3rd Israel launched a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip
January 7th – Russia shuts off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine
January 13th – Ethiopian military forces begin pulling out of Somalia where they have tried to maintain order for nearly two years.
January 17th – Israel announces a unilateral cease fire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas declares its own ceasefire.
January 20th – Barack Obama is inaugurated the 44th president of the United States and the first African American president in U.S. history.
January 26th - The Icelandic government and banking system collapse
February 7 – The deadliest bushfires in Australian history begin; they kill 173, injure 500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless.
April 3–4 – The 21st NATO Summit is held, 60 years after the founding of the organization.
April 6 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes in Italy, killing nearly 300 and injuring more than 1,500
April 24 – The World Health Organization expresses concern at the spread of influenza from Mexico and the United States to other countries. International cases and resulting deaths are confirmed.
May 18 – Following more than a quarter-century of fighting, the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the total military defeat of the LTTE
May 25 – North Korea announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear test in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council condemns the reported test.
June 11 – The outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as "swine flu", is deemed a global pandemic,[49] becoming the first condition since the Hong Kong flu of 1967–1968 to receive this designation.
June 12 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reelected as the president of Iran. During the following weeks, supporters of defeated candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi protest the results. The resultant violence is said to be the worst seen in Iran since the Iranian revolution of 1979
June 25 – The death of American entertainer Michael Jackson triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushes internet traffic to potentially unprecedented and historic levels.
August 7 – Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan, killing 500 and stranding more than 1,000 via the worst flooding on the island in half a century.
September 25 – At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, world leaders announce that the G-20 will assume greater leverage over the global economy, replacing the role of the G-8, in an effort to prevent another financial crisis like that in 2008.
September 29 – An 8.3-magnitude earthquake triggers a tsunami near the Samoan Islands. Many communities and harbors in Samoa and American Samoa are destroyed, and at least 189 are killed.
September 30 – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes just off the coast of Sumatra, killing around 1,000 in Indonesia.[72]
October 20 – European astronomers discover 32 exoplanets
November 13 – Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact, NASA announces that it has found a "significant" quantity of water on the moon.
December 7 – December 18 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark.[86]
December 16 – Astronomers discover GJ1214b, the first-known exoplanet on which water could exist.
Where was God in all of that? It would be tempting to select the items that we feel are good news and say that God was at work there, while we select the items that seem to be bad news and say that God was not at work there or that the devil had his way at those times. But, Jesus reminds us that not a hair can fall from our heads without God knowing about it. Paul reminds us that all things are working for good for those who love God. The Psalmist reminds us that God is in control of all things in this world and we can never flee from God’s presence. As Jesus says, “God causes the sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous.” We can extrapolate from that that God causes the rains to fall and the floods to come on the righteous and the unrighteous. God cause the earth to quake beneath the feet of the righteous and the unrighteous. God causes global temperature to rise for the righteous and the unrighteous. So where was God at work in 2009? One answer is everywhere and according to purposes we cannot possibly comprehend.
At the same time there is a more personal answer to the question, “Where was God in 2009?” It is the message of the Christmas season. The answer is a name that is so common we don’t hear the profound spiritual message within it. Where was God in 2009? The answer is Emmanuel which means God is with us. In whatever natural disaster or war or personal tragedy God is with us. In whatever suffering or loss we have experienced this year. God is with us.
The epic story of the Gospel is that human beings represented in Adam and Eve, choose to go it on their own. We choose to try to live independent from God. We try to define good and evil for ourselves. We reject God as a Higher Power and choose ourselves as the highest power. When we do that God does not wave a magic wand and force us to do what he wants. Instead she honors our choices, honors our free will and in the person of Jesus Christ, she comes alongside us on the journey. She becomes with us. In Christ, God is with us and has been all year and will be all next year.
So because God is with us we are empowered by the Grace of God to make good choices in the midst of the chaos of life. The Reformed doctrine of total depravity says that without God we cannot do any good, we are incapable of doing good without God. That’s not to say we can never do good, but that the source of all our goodness is that of God within us. It is only through the Grace of God we are able to live transformed lives of love and peace and understanding. All good in our lives is by the Grace of God.
So, since we began today with a long list of mostly bad news. I want to close with a list of some good things that did not make the news, but that have happened in this world this year by the Grace of God in our lives.
January 10th – A young boy in a low income neighborhood in Baltimore put his baby sister to bed while their single mother was at work. He did that by the Grace of God.
February 4th – In Bogotá, Columbia, in the secrecy of his office, an anonymous state official turned down a bribe from a drug lord. He did that by the Grace of God.
March 21st – In rural Oregon a recovering alcoholic made it through another day without taking a drink. She did that by the Grace of God.
April 9th – A girl in Japan folded a paper crane to place on an altar for world peace with hundreds of thousands of others. She did that by the Grace of God.
May 30th – A U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, shared food with a young boy and convinced the boy to stay in school instead of joining local terrorists. She did that by the Grace of God.
June 2nd – In Maimi, Florida a teenage age mother took a deep breath before losing her temper with her 2 year old. She did that by the Grace of God.
July 19th – A 99 year old man in Austin, TX, instead of receiving aggressive treatment for his advanced cancer, chose to enter hospice. He did that by the Grace of God.
August 17th – The men, women and children of Kay Papa Nou orphanage in Haiti woke up to worship and sing together another day. They did that by the Grace of God.
September 22nd – A young man at the University of Michigan swallowed his pride and stopped when his date changed her mind and said no. He did that by the Grace of God.
October 3rd – In Greenville, SC a drug addicted prostituted walked into a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. She did that by the Grace of God.
November 9th – At Central High School in LA a girl walked away when her friends started making fun of a classmate. She did that by the Grace of God.
December 27th – A group of many different kinds of people woke up on a Sunday morning and arrived in this room to worship a God who is love. They did that by the Grace of God.
These stories did not make the news this year. But, there are more of these stories happening throughout the world than even Wikipedia can document. God was everywhere in 2009, because God was with us wherever we were. Yes, God was with us when we failed too, but through God’s presence and by the Grace of God millions of us overcame great obstacles this year. By the Grace of God we made some good choices. By the Grace of God we followed God’s leading. And because God is, Emmanuel, with us, we will also be empowered to make good choices throughout 2010, whatever that year may bring.
