1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved; 2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring. 4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!
5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.
Yesterday we had the start of winter, with a blast of hail and high winds. Today the forecast is for snow: after Kirk I went up into the hills and there are signs that trees have come down (we are talking pines here) and the fords were passable.
Just. At one ford I took the higher track and a proper 4WD was axle deep in the water. I looked at the sky, saw the next front coming, and got down from 500m to home. You can die all to easily in the hills in NZ.
The family of the Indonesian student who died after being swept away while crossing a stream on the Milford Track say they hope steps will be taken so the tragedy is not repeated.
Yessica Asmin (22) was swept away on Monday while crossing the swollen Pompolona Creek, which feeds the Clinton River. Her body was found by searchers on Wednesday afternoon.In a statement issued through police yesterday, her family said they were devastated by the loss of their daughter.”Yessica had come to New Zealand for a trip and was only starting her young life, expecting to graduate with her masters degree in marketing from the University of New South Wales in June.” The family hoped she was the ”last victim in that area of Fiordland”.
She will not be. Many of the bridges that go up in summer are taken down in April, before the high track is at risk from avalanches: after that you have to be an experienced alpine trekker to go in — and no one goes there in Winter, as the risk of avalanche is too high.
But one has to have sympathy for her family, and pray that they get a sense of peace. Which brings us to the text for today, which is a teaching on trials. We should consider these to be inevitable.
2My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy,3because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
5If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; 7, 8 for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
16Do not be deceived, my beloved.
17Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
13Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated,15but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
Now, there is very little comfort we can give to this family. Streams in NZ are dangerous.
As it is, the Department of Conservation pamphlet and online site for the Milford Track does include warnings about “winter tramping”. There is an ‘alert’ symbol and advice that avalanche-prone bridges have been removed. There is also a further warning under a winter tramping link about ensuring ‘all in your party are suitably fit and experienced in winter tramping, including navigation skills, river crossings, alpine conditions, safety judgement’.
In fact, during May, once booking for the huts is no longer required and costs are lower, the huts at weekends can be crowded. This is usually before the most serious winter hazard of all, avalanches, become a danger. Later in the season and in early spring, there are times of snow instability when even the most experienced mountaineers would avoid putting themselves in the way of many potential avalanche paths on the track.
Rivers, however, are a possible peril any time of the year, including side streams which easily become torrents. As the Mountain Safety Council says: ‘Rivers are one of the greatest hazards in the New Zealand Outdoors. Errors of judgement often have serious consequences.’
There are about three river-crossing deaths a year, and 80% of these are in flooded rivers or side streams. “It’s not only the untrained who die,” the council says. “Experienced and skilled people have drowned after being tempted to give it a go against their better judgement. You should not take any river crossing lightly: the risks are too great.”The number one rule, then, is if in doubt don’t cross. It is far better to seek some sort of shelter and wait. New Zealand side streams can also fall as quickly as they rise, and the temptation to risk all to get to the nearby or next hut must be resisted.There are judgements about current depth and speed, the runout, the riverbed, the clarity of the water as well as stronger mutual support techniques.
The underlying message is about the power of flowing water, and New Zealand has lots of that. Anyone outside the confines of a summer walk on a main track in good conditions needs to be aware of the hazard.
Bad things — and this is bad — happen. No person goes onto one of these tracks with the idea that they will die. They go because it is beautiful, and students go when it is cheaper because they have a limited budget. Locals don’t, for we know how easy it is to get lost and to fall into streams — often from bitter experience.
But we will all experience bad things. The question is what to do with it. Here the classic teaching is some comfort, for although we are going through difficulties, Christ did not promise us a dry track with safe bridges. He promised instead that we would have troubles.
But that his spirit would be with us. In all the difficulties. And let us pray that the spirit of Christ comforts this, and all families, as they grieve.