Pompeii Scavi

Those who feasted on delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple cling to ash heaps. - Lamentations 4:5

Not to be confused with the nearby modern city of Pompeii, Pompeii Scavi (which means excavation) can be found a commuter train ride away from Napoli, Italy. The ancient city was buried under tons of ash during an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in August of 79 AD. About 1,600 years later the city was slowly excavated, giving us an extremely well-preserved example of what ancient life was like. The city was literally stopped in its tracks by the eruption, leaving behind petrified examples of bread, fruit, and all sorts of other daily activities - including graffiti, prostitution and excess.

Frighteningly, the people themselves were also left behind. Most suffocated on poisonous gases and were buried under ash. Today, plaster casts have been made of those bodies and are on display throughout the site. Most frightening is the fact that on many faces, you can still make out expressions of pain, fear and desperation.

Some might try to make some kind of connection between Pompeii's infamous love for the erotic and passion for excess and its quick, untimely destruction. Living in the time recently following Christ, some might say that God was clearing out pagans and those wrapped in the pleasures of the flesh and showing that their time had passed. It's a tempting thought, since it gives some kind of meaning to this incredible disaster and grand loss of life.

Even today, we use these kinds of explanations. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis that leave massive destruction and death in their wake are explained as punishment and purification by God. It's an easy explanation, but doesn't quite ring true. After all, Mt. Vesuvius killed innocent and extravagant all in one cloud, just as Hurricane Katrina took young, old, poor and wealthy all at once. After all, God promised Abraham that even Sodom would be spared if there were even 10 worthy people there. If God is just, God would keep those promises even today.

Perhaps instead, we can be reminded of two things by the story of Pompeii: no wealth or luxury is ever permanent, and disasters occur to faithful and faithless alike. We will always do well to put our ultimate trust in God no matter what - tragedy or success, wealth or poverty, life or death - and to not jump to conclusions at others' expense.

Just and gracious God, in the face of tragedies and uncertainties, help us to always put our trust in you. Keep us from the lure of easy answers and the draw of material goods, and remind us that the only answers are from you, the only wealth is your grace. Give healing and rest to those battered by tragedy, and give us always your peace and mercy. We pray this in your Son's name, Amen.