The Pike River Mine Divide

Facing Up To A Fool's Errand

What do we want?  JUSTICE!  When do we want it? NOW.

Such has been the litany of  some people who have suffered as a result of miners being killed in the Pike River catastrophe on the west of the South Island.  They want the remains of their loved ones disinterred and given back to them.  The previous government took advice and decided not to attempt to re-enter the (now sealed) mine because the risks were too great.  Most accepted that reality.

But some of those who were connected by blood and/or marriage to the dead miners have been pushing ever since to get the mine re-opened.  They appear to have two objectives.  The first was to be able to re-claim the earthly remains of the dead miners, still entombed within the sealed mine.  They say they have wanted a place to bury their dead, so that they could pay their respects as and when they wanted.

We should say at this point that not all the families of the dead miners have agreed with this view.  They have quietly accepted the death of their loved ones, grieved, and moved on.  But others have not.  They have made lack of funereal rites a cause, claiming permanent long-term residual affliction because they have been unable to hold a funeral for their dead family member.  They also feel aggrieved because they have been prevented from having a grave site at which they could mourn for as long as they wanted.

The second objective of the re-openers is to gather forensic evidence of the cause of the deadly mine explosion and, therefore, be able to identify a soul to damn and a butt to kick.

We are told that the return of the bodies of the dead would likely be a misplaced pipe dream.
  Just as a crematorium leaves only ashes behind, so the temperatures in the exploding, burning mine would have consumed most of the remains of the dead.  But we also now know that the re-entry into the mine will be limited; it will not traverse the area where the majority miners were located when the explosions occur.  It will not gain access to the working area, but only to the approaches thereof.

But the Pike River mourners think that gathering forensic evidence to prove wrongdoing and prosecute some entity or person(s) is worth all the effort and money and risk.  It seems as though this is now more important than the funereal rites which they believe require the return of the dead, even though the remains may likely be nothing more than ashes.  Grief has turned into vengeance.

It's at such times that we are thankful to the bottom of our hearts that we are Christians.  We believe in an infinitely just God whose weighing and ruling on all sin, guilt, and responsibility is both perfect and infinitely just.  Nothing can, nor will, escape Him.  Therefore, we Christians are released from the false hope of perfect justice in this life.  We are able to leave this responsibility in the hands of the only One sufficiently holy and just to bear it.

How sad it is to hear of people who, for whatever reason, are unable to cast such burdens upon the Living God.  How useless and pathetic it is for any of us to attempt to secure for ourselves and/or loved ones perfect justice in this life.

We are heartened to hear the testimonies of those who have been able to accept their losses, grieve, and move forward, beginning again as it were.  We are grieved to hear of those who are unable to forgive and leave all such things in the hands of God Himself.