+Come Holy Spirit; fill the hearts of your
faithful with the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we
shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.
God said to Moses in today’s account of the
Passover, “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you
live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague
shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be
a day of remembrance for you. (Exodus 12:13)
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and
Gulfport and the towns in between this week and when the flood
waters rose, there were no signs on the doorposts to tell the storm
to pass by. Some believe that God has punished these people
the way God punished the Egyptians, but I believe the best take on
God’s role in this American Disaster is that no matter what happens
to us, God will be with us—with those in the flood, in the New
Orleans Convention Center, in the Superdome, on the bridges and
streets, trapped in flooded houses, God will be with them and us.
God did not cause this disaster, but for many, God seems pretty far
off.
I am reminded of the words of The psalmist of
Psalm 69 (1-4), who, in a desperate situation, prayed these
words to God:
“Save me, O God, for the waters have
risen up to my neck.
I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no firm ground for
my feet.
I have come into deep waters, and the torrent washes over
me.
I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed;
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.”
In the wake of this week’s disaster, The Rev.
Barbara Cawthorne Crafton wrote these words earlier in the week,
reminding me of the blood on the doorposts:
“If I were a Revelation watcher, I'd
have my calculator out this morning, running the numbers again and
again to see if the world might not be ending. Hurricane Katrina's
devastation has grown worse with the advent of the deadly floods
that are her aftermath.
Workers go from house to house,
spray-painting black marks on the ones in which the dead remain:
there is no time to recover them now, not with so many of the living
still to be plucked from their rooftops.
In a Baghdad that was already one of
the most dangerous places on earth because of the war, at least 640
people are dead this morning in the area around a Shi'a mosque after
a false suicide bomber alarm caused a stampede during a spiritual
pilgrimage. Men, women and children, trampled to death or drowned in
the Tigris after the railing of the bridge they were walking on
collapsed and they tumbled into the water.
The devastation from flooding
continues in India. The drought continues in Niger. The displaced in
Zimbabwe remain homeless and without food. People in Sri Lanka,
Indonesia, India remain in camps after last year's tsunami.
Everything continues.
And so the response must also
continue. If we tire of being asked to help again and again, we need
only think of the exhaustion of the people who need that help and we
will remember how blessed we are to be alive, dry, housed, fed,
employed, healthy.
If we grow weary of the bad news,
sick at heart, we have help for that, too: a God who will strengthen
and encourage and invigorate us for service when we turn to God.”
Crafton and others, like Jim Wallis, have written plenty this
week. Their words have helped us in the face of unimaginable
disaster right here in America. An Op-Ed piece in The New
York Times was pretty graphic about the failure of the
government to bring aid soon enough to the poor people of color in
the Gulf Coast. We have struggled with classism and racism
writ large, it seems. We have tired of waiting for relief to
come and we have been glued to CNN waiting for hope for these our
brothers and sisters. We are so overwhelmed we hardly know what to
do.
Last night, Anne and Jamie and I along with some parishioners,
gathered at Lincoln Park for a vigil organized by
Mothers-On-The-Hill (MOTH). We brought packages of diapers and
other necessities for the families who will come to the DC Armory
tomorrow. We signed a banner welcoming these homeless families
to our neighborhood. We recognized that those who will be
sheltered in the Armory are our brothers and sisters. They
have toddlers and children like we do. Their children have no
toys or bottles or even diapers, let alone GameBoys and videogames
or iPods. And they have no homes to which to return. And
they’re coming to our neighborhood where we have the challenge of
welcoming them or ignoring them.
Today at 2:00pm, friends from MOTH will gather in our parish hall
to put together kits for these strangers coming to our neighborhood.
You’re invited to come and to bring things for these people. There’s
a list of supplies in the Narthex and on the way to the Parish Hall
and if you can’t get materials here today, a truck is going down on
Sept 10 to carry supplies from the Hill. There will be many
opportunities for us to help, to send cash, to roll up our own
sleeves, to care for these people, and one day to go to the Gulf
Coast and get to work partnering with a parish for rebuidling. Some
of us have seen these conditions in 3rd world countries
and now the Gulf Coast seems like a 3rd world country.
In the end of the Gospel of Matthew, right before Passover, Jesus
tells the parable of the Great Judgment and says that “when the Son
of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will
sit on the throne of his glory. Then he will say, ‘Come you
blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I
was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and
you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick
and you took care of me.’ Then the people asked him when was
it that he was in that shape and they helped him, and Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these
who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:31-46,
passim).
These who are coming to our neighborhood tomorrow are the least
and the lost and though strangers, they are members of our family.
The way people know the love of God in Christ is through us—through
those who hear the Gospel imperative and follow it. The last
words of the Gospel of Matthew are these spoken just before the
Ascension: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.” The way Jesus is with us is through those who believe in
him, who are called by his name, who have been baptized to carry out
the Baptismal Covenant that says, “Will you seek and serve Christ in
all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? And, “Will you strive
for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of
every human being?” We are those through whom others can know
the love of God. Let us be about this work of Christ’s justice-love
in our own community as we care for these homeless from the floods
and storms that have been raging.
Finally, let me share the words of a new hymn published by the
United Methodist Church. This hymn was written by Daniel Anderson, a
United Methodist pastor, on Monday and he suggests it be sung to
Regent Square, a tune we associate with a Christmas hymn, “Angels
from the realms of Glory.” Let us pray:
In the wake of new disaster, where the storm
washed lives away,
give to us a word of comfort; strengthen us, O Lord, we
pray.
Guide us in your ways of wisdom, as we join in
prayer today.
Give protection to the people who are stranded in harm’s
way.
Bless the efforts of the workers who are
striving night and day.
Show the rainbow of your promise: there will be a brighter day.
Bring our nation all together; move us toward a common
goal,
In the wake of violent weather, so sustain,
refresh, make whole.
We, your people, call upon you: May your love touch every soul.
May our faith grow ever stronger as we face the days
ahead.
Let us pray for one another,” Give to us our
daily bread.”
Holy Spirit, may you lead us through the floods we all must
tread.
Amen
