The Tribune

By Canon S Sebastian Campbell

ELIJAH was caught up in a chariot of fire and Elisha was left bewildered as he cried, “Father…”

It’s a test, a real test, to make sense out of things we do not understand. Who is it to interpret what is meant by a “chariot of fire”. To take a grip on the biblical imagery we must be willing to accept a mystical interpretation on natural phenomena.

Ten persons (counting the unborn) were suddenly caught up in a blaze that ushered them into glory on Sunday, November 9. The whole episode is open to interpretation and can teach us profound lessons. Our finite uninformed human minds might blame the weather. Others blame the pilots for exercising poor judgment.

Some sources tell us that the Prime Minister and some other people were maybe meant to be on the ill-fated flight.

It is said that the youth minister and his family were not scheduled to go at all. Dr Myles Munroe pulled them on at the last minute. It is circulated that the airport control returned other aircraft to ports of origin before this flight went down.

With all these dynamics, what do you interpret?

We are simply trying hard to find answers, to make sense out of the nonsense thrown at us. Both Christians and non-Christians are questioning the wisdom and love of God.

“Couldn’t he have stopped this is?” the question on our lips.

Let us try to find the hand of God at work as we put on a theological cap.

Rev Dr Myles Munroe’s work on Earth was done; he had finished his course, having kept the faith. With his entourage they were caught up in a blaze of glory. It was an ascension into God’s nearer presence while the Elishians, left here to carry on his work cry out “Father..!”

Nothing could have stopped it. It was designed so to be. It is easier to wrap our minds around this when we accept the fact that no one on that flight actually suffered any anguish or pain. The whole event happened in a moment and the twinkling of an eye. Before anyone on board that plane realised it, they were instantly translated into the nearer presence of God. It was a painless experience.

From our standpoint, we believe they all enjoyed a loving relationship with God. They were Christians, all caught up to meet their God while actively engaged in God’s work.

“Elijah” and his team were ready to meet their God. Put it against the backdrop we all know now. In recent times Myles spoke fluidly about death and the appropriate preparation. He taught that when we die we ought to be empty; he was actively engaged in emptying himself.

On the Carlton Smith show on Monday, November 3, in the hearing of his listeners he said: “I am ready to die now.” He justified this by stating his that his most fulfilling task of producing a cadre of qualified young leaders was complete.

Days before, at Bahamas Faith Ministries, he stood in the midst of the many he had mentored and trained over the many years and testified to the fulfilment of his job in raising up such an excellent cadre. There and then he proclaimed, “I can die now.”

He had leadership succession in place in his “empire”, the Bahamas Faith Ministries. This is unlike so many leaders who hold on tenaciously to their pastorates, CEO positions, job titles etc. Across the globe tributes keep pouring in; he has impacted multitudes of people. He had poured himself out into others. He gave leadership training principles and models to all those who received him wherever he went on the globe. It will continue through his written work, and more importantly, through the lives he moulded. He will live on thus continuing in his role as ambassador for the Bahamas, but more importantly for the Kingdom of God.

Nothing could have stopped what happened on November 9, 2014 at approximately 5.07pm over the Grand Bahama Shipyard. Myles was caught up in a blaze of glory. Unhurt physically, unscarred morally, ethically and spiritually intact; it was time to go. They all had to answer the call. The other nine, also caught up in this transition, must never be forgotten. Each one has a story. They all are from the bosom of loved ones. Each one must be celebrated appropriately as we become cognizant of their stories.

May their lives and contribution not be lost and cancelled because of the towering statue of Dr Myles Munroe. Ruth Munroe Richard Pinder, Stanley Thurston, Lavard Parks, Radel Parks, Johannan Parks, unborn baby Parks, Frahkan Cooper and Diego DeSantiago – they were all taken into glory as one package deal.

We have in this party represented all age groups, even the unborn. All truly representative of all age groups, the good pastor touched in his ministry. He carried with him representatives of his world wide mission field, all caught up with him now in the nearer presence of God.

Continuing the litany of “what ifs” will not help us. Carry on if you must; it might bring temporary comfort to a distraught soul. Question God if you have to. It’s a human thing, having made God in our own image and likeness. We still struggle to understand God. Good and evil as part of the moral universe is mind boggling. Who can fathom this? When we would have gone through all these staggering “what ifs” we must eventually come back to God and where necessary recreate him and enthrone him in his rightful place. Our prayer must eventually take us to acceptance of unpleasant human realities and allow God to speak to us through them.

The 10 victims of November 9 were all caught up in a blaze of glory. Their work is done. The test is for us to go on learning lessons from this terrifying scenario and ultimately be counted among the wise, prepared to meet our God whenever the call is made to us. Let us redeem our understanding of God so as to allow such a tragic event to be a teaching moment for us. Life is frail, uncertain, and each moment ought to be lived as our last.

In all things to God alone be the glory.

May they rest in peace.