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Pastor's
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On Pentecost Sunday, we invoked the presence of God’s Spirit at the
beginning of worship, offering up our invitation to God and
expressing our prayerful longing in nine different languages. It was
a moment reminiscent of that first Pentecost, when the disciples
heard the glorious praise of God, each in his or her own language.
Come, Holy Spirit! It’s a simple, yet powerful prayer. And if we
mean what we pray, then it will definitely help change the world.
This past month there were two major natural disasters on the other
side of the world that killed many thousands of people and left many
more homeless and vulnerable to disease and starvation. The cyclone
which devastated the Irawadi River delta region of Myanmar (Burma),
struck a very populous and poverty-stricken region, and what the
cyclone didn’t blast apart with its terrific winds, the river
flooded. The pictures of the homeless and desperate survivors
stranded on islands surrounded by the polluted water were numbing.
The water, tainted by poor sanitation, debris, and the bodies of the
dead, promised more misery ahead for those who managed to cling to
life. An estimate of the number killed or displaced is very
difficult to determine because the junta government in that nation
is so controlling and closed to outside aid in their response to the
disaster. Some non-partisan aid experts have speculated that the
death toll could reach 100,000 if the spread of disease continues
unabated over the next few weeks. They claim nearly 2.5 million in
that country will be affected soon by the tragedy.
In China, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck on May 12th, with
its epicenter in Wenchuan County, a very poor and isolated region in
the center of China. Some estimates predict that the dead and
missing will total 50,000 before this tragedy is over. News footage
from a collapsed high school showed twisted torsos and limbs
protruding from beneath huge concrete slabs, as almost 900 teachers
and teenagers were crushed in the quake. Wailing parents and
relatives tried frantically to paw through the debris with their
bare hands, hoping to find some of their loved ones still alive
below. Nearby, a chemical plant cratered and thousands of gallons of
toxic chemicals poured out. Office buildings, which were full at
that hour of the afternoon, also came crashing down in the quake,
killing or injuring thousands. The government has tried to mobilize
a relief response, but some say it is too little, too late, to reach
many of those who need it most. They, too, are reluctant to accept
outside assistance. The power outages and lack of clean water and
food, the mud-slides which have blocked roads, and the after-shocks
over subsequent days, have left this region reeling.
In each of these disasters, the rapid mobilization of relief workers
and aid supplies is hampered by political concerns and the confusion
of wide-spread chaos. This is not just a crisis “over there.” We
know this lesson all too well from our own natural disaster in New
Orleans a couple of years ago, when Hurricane Katrina struck the
Gulf Coast and breached the levies surrounding that vulnerable city.
We may have little control over the occurrence of natural disasters,
but how we prepare for and respond to them matters a great deal. And
that involves political awareness and genuine concern for those most
vulnerable to any potential devastation—wherever they live around
the world.
There are no simple solutions to the complex issues at the
intersection of nature and poverty, but we can scarcely turn away
from the need to address the social conditions and political
preparedness of nations everywhere. Who are the vulnerable? They are
our brothers and sisters in the family of God. What can we do? We
can respond in many different ways too numerous to mention here.
Where do we begin? We begin with a prayer of invocation that God
will be present in and through us in our response. Come, Holy
Spirit!
Grace and peace,
Dick |
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Recent Sermons
"Midweek Monastics"
Sun, Apr 27, 2008
"Ask the Pastor"
Answers to Questions!
Sun, Apr 13, 2008
"Just a Moment"
Communion Service
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"Forever"
Easter Sunday
Sun, Mar 23, 2008
"Dialogue with Discernment"
Sun, Feb 10, 2008
"Mountaintop
Moments"
Sun, Feb 3, 2008
"Still Small Certainty"
Sun, Jan 13, 2008
Contact:
email:
revlev at ccamherst.org
telephone:
673-3231 ex 11 |
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