As problem solvers, we are trained to look at causes and effects. There are idioms which illustrate ways we go about solving problems such as "nip it in the bud," "head it off at the pass," "cut the head off the snake."
But what about problems which don't lend themselves to easy solutions. Why is there suffering, pain, and evil - yes, evil in - the world? Why do people get sick and die? Why are innocent people punished and bad people rewarded, or "get away with murder," as we are wont to say?
To be sure, we are right to pursue good science and innovation, but as Jesus tells us in his parable of the fig tree, and as our authors this week suggest, maybe we are asking the wrong questions, or focusing on the wrong things. Compare The Rev. Marshall A. Jolly's "Suffering and Punishment," and The Rev. Debie Thomas' "Ask a Better Question." Consider Isaiah's question, "Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?"
What can we take away from this lesson, for ourselves, our relationships - for dealing with suffering and punishment, with evil, and the unknown?
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