I had breakfast with a good friend today. She had enough time to have breakfast before she shot out to visit someone at the hospital whom she was asked to see yesterday. From there she will dash to a funeral she is officiating. She said she has had more funerals that anything in the last year. I prayed before we ate, it was my turn anyway, and I prayed for her to be able to offer the family hope in peace in their time of grief. As I headed back to my retreat space, I was thinking about our role in the midst of chaos and tragedy. What is our role as pastors and laity in times of trouble? Too often we try to find the right words to say. These times are awkward and we are uncomfortable around death. So we us those favorite sayings to get us and others through. While many offer those phrases, and they fill a void in trying to explain the unexplainable, we are all called to more than catchy phrases. We are called to stand in the gap. The gap between the why did something happen and what God promises us. We often ask where is God? God is not only in the midst of it all but is truly seen in the aftermath. The poorest of the poor suffer tragedy and the world responds. Some pundits are quick to point out the US gives more and everyone should give out of abundance. “See how we do it?” Umm what was that about pride going before the fall. We ought to give whatever we can. But through the midst of it all the hope needs to be returned to the people.
My friend will do that with scripture inspired words to a family in need of hope and beginning again without a loved one. In Haiti, we need to help them heal, both physically and spiritually, as we help them dig out, clean up and begin to rebuild their city, their homes and their lives.
I read this morning from Numbers 14:6-9 and Matthew 19:14-30. Numbers takes about two of the scouts who saw the promised land saying, “hey God promised…let’s trust and move into the promised land.” We are called to risk all that we are and all that we have and move out in faith into the land God has promised. Matthew talks about the encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler. He couldn’t part/risk giving up what he had to follow. He was looking for validation and Jesus said, you won’t find it there but with me. You can follow all the biblical precepts but unless you are willing to give up “stuff” for the substance I bring, you will continue to struggle.
I was watching the movie “Up” which was given to me at Christmas. What a great movie! The story is about a man who marries someone from childhood. They have this wonderful life together in adventure but then she becomes sick and dies. All this man has is his memories and the house filled with her. He vows to move the house to their dream site. But in the course of doing so he encounters a young scout who accompanies him. At one point the man turns his back on those he has met because his journey to move this house is not done. But there comes a point where he has to make a choice between his agenda and the safety of others. He chooses to rescue those in trouble. Transformation happens. A relationship is born and lives are changed…forever.
We are all called at some point to stand in the gap between memory and hope, between death and life, light and dark and make a choice. That is what we as disciples of Christ are called to do. So to quote the music group the Clash…”Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Choice is yours. The benefits are not to us but to the community and world we live in.
BTW Sue, I am proud of you. I know you will offer what the people need at the funeral because of one thing: you are standing on God’s Word! You will help them praise God in the storm.