Around 8pm our time Christmas Day there was a colossal earthquake in the

eastern Indian Ocean. In Sri Lanka alone, 3,000 people are known dead — a

9/11-size death toll, in a nation with one tenth our population. The number

of dead in Indonesia, much closer to the quake, and much more susceptible to

tidal waves, is not known, but will likely be greater.

It is no news to any thinking person that the great systems of the world,

both human and natural, go on without a pause while we celebrate our holy

days. It bears reflecting on nonetheless.