Sunday morning during Sunday school I received some information that I found very disturbing. Without going into any of the details, let me simply say that it appeared life threatening for someone I hold dear. My immediate reaction was to be a first responder to address a need. Yet there were other folks who were filling that role. So my absence didn’t negate the fact that help was being provided.
News of that nature can scramble one’s thoughts in a thousand different directions. Apparently, while most of what I had to share with the congregation on Sunday morning seemed coherent and thoughtfully prepared (solely based on my perception), apparently there was a disconnect or two with a misfiring inside my brain the crossed what I thought I was referencing to something else.
A thoughtful friend that I regard as a brother let me know the error of my ways as he was headed out the door. Of course, the smile on his face didn’t mask the great delight he had in sharing the information with me. Apparently during the announcements, I expressed thanks for those involved in orchestrating the Valentines banquet at church the previous Sunday. I’d say it wasn’t true, but apparently I referenced the Valentine’s banquet as the Thanksgiving banquet. Surely I didn’t, but apparently I did.
If I had been thinking more clearly when my friend shared my error, I’d have responded that the two are synonymous. Seriously is it possible to be the recipient of another’s love without being thankful? Can you argue with that analogy?
Of course, suggesting that my reported reference to the “Good Samaritan” as the “Prodigal Son” was a bit more challenging to justify in my mind. I as speechless and probably red faced with embarrassment.
The whole thrust of the morning’s message had to do with the reality that the common denominator of mankind seems to be some level of pain related to life’s circumstances. After all, the week had been one of incredible sadness. Another school shooting left 17 dead and 15 others injured. It makes one wonder what’s becoming of our world. Unbelievable isn’t it?
The Guardian expressed it this way: “While is seems a lot less than almost two decades ago, Columbine was once an instantly understood single-word shorthand for the terrible toll of mass shootings in the United States. But the massacre that happened in Colorado just shy of 2 decades ago is no longer one of the worst 10 mass shootings in modern America. And following the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Columbine no longer stands as the worst high school shooting in US history”.
Two and a half months before the carnage that took place on Valentine’s Day, on November 5, twenty-six people gathered for morning worship at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, TX. 26 people were killed and 20 others were injured.
The month before that, on the night of October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, leaving 58 people dead and 851 injured.
Billy Graham was right. Fifty-three years ago he wrote: Fire can either purify or destroy… Our world is on fire and man without God will never be able to put out the flames. The demons of hell have been let loose. The fires of passion, greed, hate and lust are sweeping the world. We seem to be plunging toward Armageddon…This is the generation that will pass through the fire. It is the generation… ‘Under the gun”. This is the tormented generation. This is the generation destined to live in the midst of crisis, danger, fear and death. The flames are licking all around our world- the roof is about to cave in- man is caught in a fire raging out of control”.
Isn’t it true? Everywhere you look, there is the presence of hurting people. The source of the pain doesn’t have to be from the indiscriminate firing of a gunman’s bullet.
- It can come your way through the ringing of a telephone in the middle of the night, communicating to you the worst possible kind of news.
- It can come your way when the job you loved evaporates into thin air and your source of income and your ability to financially meet the needs of your family crumbles into the midst of despair. The vast majority of families in this country are 3 months away from homelessness. If they lose their job, their ability to financially meet the needs of their family is greatly compromised.
- It can come your way through fractured family relationships. The term “family conflict” seems like an oxymoron, but the reality is relationship problems and the seeming lack of love between many husbands and wives, children and parents, brothers and sisters and folks in general leaves a wake of pain in it’s path.
- It can come your way from a visit to the doctor’s office. The test results weren’t favorable and suddenly your illness is seen as life-threatening.
So where does the family of faith fit in? How can we help? Isn’t helping part of our sense of calling and God’s purposes for our lives?
Do you remember the old parable of the man who dreamed he was transported into the next life and was allowed to glimpse the places called Heaven and Hell? The one showing him about explained that the one difference between people here and people on earth was that their elbows were stiffened. The man was taken first to the lower region and what he saw was a scene of chaos, literally “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.” The people there had loaves of bread in their hands, but because their elbows were stiff, they could not get the food to their mouths and they were thrashing around and hitting each other in total frustration. It was the epitome of un-fulfillment and misery.
From there the man was taken to Heaven, and the spirit of that place was totally different. Here was harmony and creativity and joy. Here, too, the people had food in their hands and stiff elbows, but instead of being concerned about feeding themselves, each was intent on feeding another. This could easily be done in their condition. The people were paired off, intent on feeding another and in the process were being fed themselves.
If it is true that we are to love God and love our neighbor, the question becomes what kind of neighbor am I? Scripture says that we are made in the image of God. Consequently it seems fairly certain that offering a helping hand should be reflective of our nature.
All My Best!
Don
Carpe Diem 