Letter of the Day | Stronger than the storm
Published:Tuesday | November 25, 2025 | 12:07 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, as Jamaica endeavours to restore homes, livelihoods, and lives, familiar voices have re-emerged, claiming this disaster to be divine punishment. Yet, this is not the message of the Gospel nor the wisdom of our Church.
The late Archbishop Samuel Carter, in his pastoral letter “God and Natural Disasters,” reminds us that hurricanes are part of the natural order of creation. They originate from atmospheric and climatic patterns that have shaped the Caribbean for centuries. These phenomena are not acts of divine wrath but integral to the planet’s ecology. Archbishop Carter emphasised that God does not send storms to destroy us; instead, God accompanies us as we emerge from them.
The 2025 Pastoral Letter of the Antilles Episcopal Conference reinforces this understanding. The bishops warn against confusing meteorology with morality or using suffering as a weapon against the vulnerable. They stress that God’s presence is not in the winds, but in the compassion, courage, and solidarity that follow.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, in “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” simplifies the inquiry: the question is not “Why did God do this?” but “Where is God as we heal?” The consistent answer – God is found in the strength that sustains us through the darkness.
That darkness is tangible. Following a storm, a nation enters what Scripture might call a time of re-creation, emerging from a phase of de-creation – when everything is shaken and stripped away. Recreation is a slow, often painful process, marked by emotional fatigue, economic uncertainty, and spiritual vulnerability. It is also a time when greed can surface, with some seeking to profit from others’ helplessness. As Rev Sean Major-Campbell reflects in The Gleaner columns, disasters reveal both our worst and our best.
Yet hope persists. Neighbours clearing debris together, young people organising relief efforts, churches opening their doors, and resilient Jamaicans refusing to give up. These are the seeds of renewal, planted deep within us by the Spirit.
Now is not the moment for political posturing or divisive rhetoric. It is a time for national unity. Communities, families, neighbourhoods, government, opposition, and the Church must unite to ensure that no one is left behind.
God is not the source of destruction. God is the partner in re-creation. And re-creation begins when we commit to rebuilding—together.
FR DONALD CHAMBERS