How does one preach the good news of Jesus Christ in the shadow of a 7.2 earthquake that, within seconds, destroyed 200,000 plus lives, tore apart families, leveled buildings, made those who were already economically poor even poorer? How do we sing the Lord's song in the midst of such devastation and heartache?
The answer is to be found in the people of Haiti whose incredible faith allows a woman buried under a building for six days to come out singing; another to be rescued from under the rubble, proclaiming "I'm alive!" The answer is to be found in the people all over the world who have joined in prayer together for a country to which most of us have never been and for a people we have never met.
Before this earthquake, my connections to Haiti were limited to the French tutor Jean Max Sam who taught me enough French to get me through my language requirements in college; to the four people in one of my churches I served who went to Haiti to do some work at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital; and to the Haitian start up church in our annual conference. All in all, Haiti was simply not on my radar. It most certainly had little impact on anything I might preach. All that was changed last week when, at 4:53 in the afternoon, Haiti was altered forever.
This week I am wondering how one preaches in the shadow of an earthquake. A small child, after being rescued, offered me an answer. When asked what she wanted, she replied that she "hoped for something to happen, to happen tomorrow." Ah, I thought to myself, in the shadow of an earthquake we need to offer the expectation of a favorable future under God's direction. We need to offer hope and we need to be able to offer, to anyone who asks, the reason for the hope we have. We need to tell our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are listening, we need to remind ourselves, that hope is eternal. It makes all sorts of things possible, even the rebuilding of a city and a people who currently seem beyond help.
What does this hope look like, this good news of God? How does this sermon end? You tell me.
We've all been invited to tell the story.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
When Bad Things Happen
There's no denying that a bad thing has happened this week in Haiti. 45,000, maybe 50,000 or more, people dead. Everyone's weighed in on this tragedy: the news media, Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, the General Boards of The United Methodist Church. Everyone's weighed in; that's usually the case when bad things happen.
I can only imagine the devastation that exists in Haiti, the fear that the people there have experienced, the heartbreak of families, friends, and neighbors. It's frightening to think how life can be ordinary one moment and, in the next, totally out of hand!
Where is God in all this? That's the question I heard today, several times. Where is God?
Here's the thought that came to me as I read United Methodist reports on Haiti. Where is God in all this? God is in the relief people from The United Methodist Church who were already in Haiti for reasons not yet disclosed. Already there, these trained men and women can make a difference. Where is God in all this? God is in those six VIM (Volunteer in Mission) groups from the United States who were already in Haiti to lend their talents and skills to the people of the country. Where is God in all this? God is in United Methodists who are preparing to go to Haiti as first responders. Where is God in all this? God is in United Methodist congregations throughout the world who are making up Health Kits for the people of Haiti and collecting money to send to UMCOR. Where is God in all this? God is in every act of compassion and restoration that happens in Haiti.
The people called United Methodist will gather their resources from every corner of the globe and send them into this earthquake ravaged country. Long after every other agency is gone, UMCOR will stay in Haiti until the work is done. Where is God in all this? God is in Haiti in the form of United Methodists (and many, many others) who will remain there until the country is restored to wholeness.
When bad things happen in one part of the world, it is a call to the rest of the world to remember what God requires of us, "to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God," and to respond in faith with an experience of grace.
A bad thing has happened in Haiti. What will we do?
I can only imagine the devastation that exists in Haiti, the fear that the people there have experienced, the heartbreak of families, friends, and neighbors. It's frightening to think how life can be ordinary one moment and, in the next, totally out of hand!
Where is God in all this? That's the question I heard today, several times. Where is God?
Here's the thought that came to me as I read United Methodist reports on Haiti. Where is God in all this? God is in the relief people from The United Methodist Church who were already in Haiti for reasons not yet disclosed. Already there, these trained men and women can make a difference. Where is God in all this? God is in those six VIM (Volunteer in Mission) groups from the United States who were already in Haiti to lend their talents and skills to the people of the country. Where is God in all this? God is in United Methodists who are preparing to go to Haiti as first responders. Where is God in all this? God is in United Methodist congregations throughout the world who are making up Health Kits for the people of Haiti and collecting money to send to UMCOR. Where is God in all this? God is in every act of compassion and restoration that happens in Haiti.
The people called United Methodist will gather their resources from every corner of the globe and send them into this earthquake ravaged country. Long after every other agency is gone, UMCOR will stay in Haiti until the work is done. Where is God in all this? God is in Haiti in the form of United Methodists (and many, many others) who will remain there until the country is restored to wholeness.
When bad things happen in one part of the world, it is a call to the rest of the world to remember what God requires of us, "to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God," and to respond in faith with an experience of grace.
A bad thing has happened in Haiti. What will we do?
Friday, January 8, 2010
Invitation to Be a Soul Friend (Anam Cara)
Recently I received an invitation that has touched me to the very core of my being. It was an invitation to join a small circle of soul friends. I received this invite in a face-to-face sit down with a colleague who had become aware of the Celtic tradition of the anam cara or soul friend.
Immediately, I was hooked. In a world where ordained ministry tends to create Lone Rangers, which by the way was one of my fav shows as a child, I was moved by my colleague's invitation. It struck a chord with me. Over my years in ordained ministry, while I have had many friends, I have also experienced a certain loneliness. I have lived with the sense that there was always a gap in their understanding of me; that there were some things about the life of a female clergy person that could not be understood by those outside the circle, no matter how hard they tried. When I say outside the circle, I am not speaking of non-clergy friends. Some of my clergy "friends" have little understanding of who I am and my interactions with them have led me to feel as if I was a fish out of water.
On the day I received the invitation to become a soul friend, it was an aha moment. As I listened to my colleague, I suddenly realized that my struggles have been around the co-issues of trust and security. In these two things, built on the foundation of unconditional love, of grace, is found the solution to a certain kind of loneliness that happens when colleagues are unable to accept us as we are. As we engaged in holy conversation, naming the colleagues we would entrust with anything, the best and the worst, our "successes" and our "failures," persons who wouldn't use either against us, it was a moment of great clarity. These colleagues actually exist and have been in my circle of friends, in some form or fashion, over the years. This treasure has always been available to me. With one exception, instead of appreciating this and seeking to deepen these relationships, I have spent far too many years leaning toward professional loneliness.
On the day I received the invitation to become a soul friend, the one giving the invitation didn't know it, but he gave me an incredible gift. The Spirit of God used him to open my eyes to see that there are colleagues with whom I can truly be myself, colleagues with whom I can truly open up and share when things in the church are working and when they are not. Soul friends. Anam cara.
As 2010 begins, this circle of friends will begin a new phase of our journey together. I pray that it will lead us to be defined in new ways and to be more accepting of who we are and who we can become as together we experience God's grace.
Immediately, I was hooked. In a world where ordained ministry tends to create Lone Rangers, which by the way was one of my fav shows as a child, I was moved by my colleague's invitation. It struck a chord with me. Over my years in ordained ministry, while I have had many friends, I have also experienced a certain loneliness. I have lived with the sense that there was always a gap in their understanding of me; that there were some things about the life of a female clergy person that could not be understood by those outside the circle, no matter how hard they tried. When I say outside the circle, I am not speaking of non-clergy friends. Some of my clergy "friends" have little understanding of who I am and my interactions with them have led me to feel as if I was a fish out of water.
On the day I received the invitation to become a soul friend, it was an aha moment. As I listened to my colleague, I suddenly realized that my struggles have been around the co-issues of trust and security. In these two things, built on the foundation of unconditional love, of grace, is found the solution to a certain kind of loneliness that happens when colleagues are unable to accept us as we are. As we engaged in holy conversation, naming the colleagues we would entrust with anything, the best and the worst, our "successes" and our "failures," persons who wouldn't use either against us, it was a moment of great clarity. These colleagues actually exist and have been in my circle of friends, in some form or fashion, over the years. This treasure has always been available to me. With one exception, instead of appreciating this and seeking to deepen these relationships, I have spent far too many years leaning toward professional loneliness.
On the day I received the invitation to become a soul friend, the one giving the invitation didn't know it, but he gave me an incredible gift. The Spirit of God used him to open my eyes to see that there are colleagues with whom I can truly be myself, colleagues with whom I can truly open up and share when things in the church are working and when they are not. Soul friends. Anam cara.
As 2010 begins, this circle of friends will begin a new phase of our journey together. I pray that it will lead us to be defined in new ways and to be more accepting of who we are and who we can become as together we experience God's grace.
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