Henrietta United Church of Christ

Rev. David Inglis September 4, 2005

Psalm 46

“Facing Disaster: What Can We Do?”

We’ve all been barraged with images of whole neighborhoods under water, of rows of houses flattened, of filthy water and debris everywhere, of bodies floating in the water and lying in the streets, of looting and even some shooting at rescue helicopters. On top of the counted and yet uncounted deaths and destruction, the hurricane leaves economic devastation whose ripples are already hitting us, and will continue to for a long time.

It almost seems futile to ask “What can we do?”, because we feel so overwhelmed. But when disaster hits, we must not give into numbness, paralysis or apathy. If that happens, we become another casualty–a spiritual casualty. Not only is that lamentable, it’s also unnecessary. So today I’m going to outline what we can do and what we must do so as to not lose heart and to not lose our soul when we face a tragedy like this.

The first thing we need to do is mourn. When we get hit with news like we have this week, it’s something like getting battered by a hurricane on an emotional level. If you’re like me, you want to hunker down, brace yourself against more bad news, and hope it will soon be over. It’s a kind of defensive response to an overload. And we find ourselves walking around tense, frustrated, burdened, and numb, because we’re both overloaded and resisting the suffering that’s out there. This kind of response helps keep us from being washed away emotionally, but it also buries our heart and locks up our spirit in the basement, where they feel less vulnerable but aren’t as available to engage in what’s happening.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I think he was saying, “Blessed are those whose hearts are broken open instead of sealed shut against life’s suffering. Hearts that are open to pain are also open to the mysterious comfort that comes from the deep knowing that God holds us all in an eternal embrace.”

Speaking personally, I’ve found it helpful to release the walls that hold in my emotions, and just let myself weep in the face of all the devastation. Instead of erecting a dam against the sadness, I let it run like a river through me, and I find my heart rising to the surface and life flowing through me again.

As Eberhard Arnold said, “Only when we taste the lot of all, when we become involved deeply in world suffering, one in heart with the need of humanity, can we win through to our true vocation. Only when the conscience becomes active, only when love is born out of suffering, only when hardship leads to liberating action, is victory near.” (From a speech he delivered in 1919.)

It is an open heart that connects us to each other, that connects us to God, and that opens us to our higher wisdom that helps us know what to do. I took heart from an impromptu statement that President Bush made to reporters after Air Force 1 had flown him over the Gulf area on his way from his vacation back to Washington to take command of the relief efforts. He said, “It was so emotional, seeing all that devastation....seeing whole neighborhoods just under water, seeing all those houses and schools and churches destroyed.” His voice broke for a moment. He said, “There just aren’t words to describe that amount of destruction.”

“Okay,” I thought, “he gets it. Maybe his heart will help him lead our country as it responds to all those people who are caught in the grip of death.” Why it took three or four more days to really start getting basic relief into New Orleans is beyond me. Maybe somebody’s heart wasn’t working.

So we need to mourn. Our open hearts link us to each other and to God. They make us human and humane. And they make us available for action.

The second thing we need to do is pray. In the face of something so huge, it’s hard to know what to pray and how to pray, especially when we’re alone. So we come together to pray as best we can. It was good to pray together the prayer that John Thomas wrote. And it was good to sing the Lord’s Prayer together.

I have no doubt that it was prayer that helped the psalmist move from terror to trust when he wrote these words from our scripture reading today:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

Prayer opens a spiritual channel between ourselves, those who are suffering, and God. Prayer helps us find the door into that refuge and strength that nothing in this world can shake. Prayer links us to the ultimate truth, that “neither death, nor life,... nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-40). It is prayer that can help us look at devastation, not just with human eyes, but also with spiritual eyes, and say, with Paul, “All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). And it is prayer that can help us become a part of that purpose, so that good can come even out of tragedy.

So we must weep, and we must pray.

And third, we must act. We need to find some specific way that we can be a part of the good that can come out of such calamity. Right now, it seems that there is little on a practical level that we can do besides send money. Any other kind of donation would clog up the system that needs to get people what they need for survival. And only trained rescue workers can and should deal with this situation at this point. And some of us have little money to spare, or have already given food and school supplies to the food cupboard this summer, and already give generously to the church, and have already given to other worthy causes. It feels like there’s always some important need to give to, and it sometimes feels like the church is always asking for money in some way or another. And with the price of fuel going up by the hour, lots of us are wondering how we’ll keep our budgets balanced. These concerns are real. How do we know when we’re giving enough, or maybe even too much?

Just like not every phone call is for you, not every cause has your name on it. It’s important to discern which calls are for us, and invest our energy and resources most fully in those. But that said, there’s probably something in us that both wants to and needs to be a part of the relief and rebuilding in the Gulf area. If we are Christ’s hands and feet, we probably want to be agents of healing and hope in the face of such devastation. Some people are finding creative ways to raise funds. Some people are finding ways to do without something they can live without, and are letting their sacrifice give them a sense of solidarity with those who have lost everything. Some people are finding that their priorities look a little different now. Maybe the money they were planning to spend on some new fall clothes might go to someone who lost all their clothes.

If we give, let it not be out of guilt or obligation, but out of a desire to be a part of something bigger than we are–God’s compassion, God’s generosity, God’s kingdom that links one spirit to another through the mysterious power of love. God’s Spirit is moving people all over the world to affirm our common humanity in the face of this tragedy. Whether it’s in a big way or a small way, our participation in this response is a powerful gesture of hope.

There are lots of good organizations to give to, including the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. Today and next Sunday, we’re receiving an offering that will go to the UCC’s response to the hurricane, “Hope Shall Bloom.” Part of the money is helping Church World Service get blankets and health kits into emergency shelters, get medicines to health care professionals, and will be helping get cleanup kits to those who are trying to salvage their homes. Part of the money will go to help rebuild the UCC’s Backbay Mission in Biloxi, which was wiped out by the storm. Part of it is going to the UCC’s National Disaster Ministries team, which will be coordinating grief and trauma counseling services and providing seed money for local churches to set up long-term recovery projects. We can be Christ’s hands and feet and voice, offering help and hope to the people we know he would be with right now if he were physically on earth today. Checks may be made out to Henrietta UCC and marked “Emergency USA.” You can use your Special Offering envelope in your bulletin for either a cash or check donation. If you want more time to consider how much you want to give, we’ll be receiving the offering next Sunday as well.

So when the sea’s waters “roar and foam,” and “the mountains tremble with its tumult,” and cities are turned into cesspools and towns into trash heaps, even then we are not rendered powerless. As Paul said, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;...struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). Even now, the life of Jesus is being made visible in God’s people, calling us to open our hearts in compassion, calling us to link to God’s spirit in prayer, calling us to generous action, so that tears may be wiped away, so that torn lives may be mended, so that hope may dawn again in the souls of all of God’s children. Isn’t it an awesome thing that the life of Jesus is being made visible in us, and can be his hands and feet where the need for his healing hope is greatest?