The images of debris and death from Swissair 111 are all too familiar, as are the scenes of grieving families gazing at a distant crash site.<\/p>\n\n
Four years ago, Father Thaddeus Barnum was caught up in a similar drama, when USAir flight 427 fell in a 23-second death dive into the wooded hills about a mile from his church outside Pittsburgh. The Sept. 8 crash killed 132, virtually shredded the aircraft and remains one of the great mysteries in aviation history.<\/p>\n\n
After rushing to the hellish scene, Barnum became one of the few clergy allowed inside the yellow security tape to minister to the stunned investigators and rescue crews. Over and over, he rushed through the same kind of media gauntlet clergy are facing this week in Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n\n
The Episcopal priest kept hearing the same question: \u201cWhy did this happen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cEverybody knows what that means,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat they were asking was, \u2018Where was God? Why did God allow this to happen?\u2019 What else could that question mean?\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n\n
After all, Barnum wasn\u2019t a mechanic, a federal investigator, a coroner or a pilot. He was just a man in a clerical collar, someone who is supposed to provide comforting answers on demand. The reporters were asking questions about the very nature of God, live and on camera.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair. We need to face tough theological questions. The problem was that they really didn\u2019t want a real answer. They wanted a sound bite,\u201d said Barnum, who wrote a book called \u201cWhere Is God in Suffering and Tragedy\u201d about the crash. \u201cI wanted to tell them, \u2018Come on. You\u2019re journalists. You cover accidents and murder and death all the time. Does a plane have to fall out of the sky for you to realize this is a sinful, fallen world?\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n\n
Truth is, jet crashes provide today\u2019s archetypal images of sudden death and grief in a land that has little direct experience with war and mass terrorism. While heart attacks and car wrecks lurk in private nightmares, the fall of a jetliner is big news. This hits close to home, especially since millions of people regularly spend time strapped into airplane seats, thinking about life and death as the wheels leave the ground.<\/p>\n\n
But life goes on. On the first anniversary of the USAir 427 crash, noted Barnum, mourners gathered at the site, waiting in silence for the clock to reach 7:03 p.m. Then the weeping was interrupted by a familiar sound \u2013 another Boeing 737 following same flight path, at exactly the same time. It was just part of the routine.<\/p>\n\n
Life goes on, but the questions linger. Theologians have given a technical name \u2013 \u201ctheodicy\u201d \u2013 to the ultimate question raised by such tragedies. Barnum states the equation bluntly in his book: \u201cEither God caused the tragedy and is not good, or He couldn\u2019t stop it and is not all-powerful. Either way, God is less than God.\u201d One bitter rescue worker simply said, \u201cDo me a favor when you get up in your pulpit. \u2026 Don\u2019t let God off the hook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
There is no sound-bite answer to questions about free will, evil and the impact of sin on all of creation, said Barnum. Christianity also insists that God is not above suffering and death, but chose to experience both in human flesh. In the end, Christmas leads to Good Friday, which is followed by Easter. This answer infuriates many people, while offering hope to others.<\/p>\n\n
Near the point of impact, Barnum discovered a torn human body hanging on a scorched tree on the hillside. He wept, yet this horrible sight also reminded him of the cross. It was impossible for a priest to avoid that kind of mysterious experience while wearing a decontamination suit in that particular valley of the shadow of death.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWhen we went into the crash site, we were facing the facts and I guess that shocked some people,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s OK for clergy to sit on the outside and comfort the grieving families. We\u2019re allowed to offer our answers in places like that. But we\u2019re not supposed to take Jesus Christ with us inside the yellow tape where everything is broken and bloody.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The images of debris and death from Swissair 111 are all too familiar, as are the scenes of grieving families gazing at a distant crash site. Four years ago, Father Thaddeus Barnum was caught up in a similar drama, when USAir flight 427 fell in a 23-second death dive into the wooded hills about a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n