As for our kinsmen who dwell in Israel, they shall all be scattered and led away into exile from the Good Land. The entire country of Israel shall become desolate; even Samaria and Jerusalem shall become desolate! God's temple there shall be burnt to the ground and shall be desolate for a while. But God will again have mercy on them and bring them back to the land of Israel. They shall rebuild the temple, but it will not be like the first one, until the era when the appointed times shall be completed. Afterward all of them shall return from their exile, and they shall rebuild Jerusalem with splendor. In her the temple of God shall also be rebuilt; yes, it will be rebuilt for all generations to come, just as the prophets of Israel said of her. (Tobit 14:4-5)

We experience tragedy, we know transcendence.

What some call "natural religion" is often talismanic. The religious impulse is focused on avoidance of pain and death. A common corollary is to invoke divine assurance of health, prosperity, and success.

At the core of Jewish and Christian faithfulness is shared suffering.

It is in exile that the descendents of Abraham most fully engage God. It is on and through the cross that humanity most fully encounters the divine.

By courageously, even lovingly embracing the tragic we can, with God's help, experience healing and wholeness.