Psalm 46:1-3

I checked email for the last time today a few minutes ago. Among them, two stuck out.



One was a “chain email” lambasting those who have been lambasting the various levels of political leadership in the continuing saga of the “blame and shame game” that seems to come on the heels of most disasters that strike us here in America.



Another was a note a pastor friend of mine sent out to members of his congregation this evening. He wrote (I changed the name of the family):



“We just got back from the Astro Arena and picked up a family. “John and Mary Doe” and their 6 children are now living in your Community Center. Alice Bongers will be contacting you about food and clothing that is needed. Their youngest child is 5. Two are in high school. My reaction to the city that is now the Astrodome, Astro Arena, and Astro Center is that the TV pictures make it look much calmer than it is. The mass of humanity is staggering. As a city, state, and nation we need to find more permanent housing for these people as soon as is possible. Pray for all those who are sojourners in out midst.”



After reading those two notes, I asked myself – who sounds more like Jesus?



What really matters right now? Who is to be blamed for poor crisis leadership? Or how long will it take to get the Doe kids back in high school?



What best bears witness to the God who is our “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble?” A diatribe ripping the political left or right? Or a family that gets to sleep in a makeshift bedroom that they won’t have to share with 14,000 others?



What really helps right now? Dividing this disaster into issues of racism, economic theory, and calling for the resignation of politicians? Or Christian hospitality to strangers, kindness from those doing what they do in the name of Jesus?



I don’t need to answer those questions. But I do need to answer them. Not with words. But with deeds.



Because in the dark days we now live, words don’t fill empty stomachs, or put shoes on bare feet. Words alone, spoken from a safe distance, don’t bring the kind of hope that hopeless people need.



Let us pray: Gracious God, our refuge and strength, come to those who are giving of themselves in so many ways to bring your help to those who desperately need it. We praise you for the self sacrificing spirit, the servant heart, exemplified in so many places but especially tonight among the members of Zion Lutheran Church. May you continue to bless them in their care of the this family even as you bless those working on behalf of thousands of others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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