Hurricane Katrina

The psalmist, in the midst of his or her own turmoil was searching for answers to questions like this…perhaps the writer was among those suffering at the time. Perhaps the writer had survived a great natural disaster. But the psalmist knew the answer to the question…Where is God? God is right here…in the midst of the trouble, God’s presence doesn’t falter even in the face of disaster.

First, let’s get one thing straight. Hurricane Katrina was NOT an “act of God.” God does not send hurricanes and floods to punish people, despite what traditional interpretations of biblical stories have told us. While there are conservative Christian groups who are claiming that Katrina is punishment for New Orleans because of the party culture, the tolerance of homosexuality, and the filiming of “Girls gone wild” videos, I say with sure faith that God does not work that way. God does not mete out unjust pain and suffering for what factions of society might deem inappropriate. God doesn’t send hurricanes to “clean up” what people think is debauchery. God doesn’t send hurricanes at all. God sends hope…

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…

Yes…there is indeed trouble. There is disorder and dismay. There is chaos. The streets ARE filled with water and people ARE hungry and dying. This is a fact. Where is God then? God is there. God is with each suffering family, each starving child, each dying person. In Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie speaks of watching a child die on the gallows in the concentration camp…a voice behind him asks… “Where is your God now” and a voice within Elie answers… “Where is God? Here God is…God is hanging here in the gallows.” Elie knew what the psalmist knew…that even in the darkest most desolate of situations, God is there. God might not be able to stop the things that happen, or make people instantly good, but God is there in the midst of the trouble, being ever present and being strong when we cannot.

But what about the looters? What about the people shooting at airplanes? Can’t God fix that?

No, God isn’t stepping in and magically fixing the damage. God isn’t reigning in those who are out of control. God can’t act that way...God has to work within the created order…the God-created order. In the movie Bruce Almighty, God says to Bruce… “People want me to do everything for them. What they don't realize is *they* have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle” If we want God’s hands to work in our world…we have to use OUR hands. If we want God’s feet to walk through our world, we have to use OUR feet. It is only through creation that God has hands and feet. Unfortunately, in this situation…there aren’t enough hands…enough boats….enough help…enough money. But God is STILL here.

God is here…not as a preventative protection…God is not a magic shield over us protecting us from ever being hurt or in danger…instead… God is our refuge and strength…a persevering presence.

Therefore we will not fear…

At first glance, there is a lot to fear in this situation…even for us up here in Kentucky. We all panicked when gas prices shot up this week…we worry for our own safety and financial security…we wonder if our families in Louisiana and Mississippi are safe…we wonder how this will affect us…our friends…our businesses. There is a lot to fear.

But then we look at the television…and we see REAL fear. We see people who are afraid that they will watch their children die. We see lines of people who only want a clean place to sleep, some food, some safe water to drink. We see cities completely destroyed, lives lost, and we understand what real fear is.

But God is here…in the midst of or fear…God is here to help us respond to our fears…to help us ACT. God can’t wipe away the fears…but God CAN and will help us cope with the fears and the knowledge of God’s presence can help us NOT to fear. We can draw strength and hope from God’s presence and learn not to be afraid, even in the face of disaster.

We will not fear if the earth changes. We will not fear the rising waters. We will not fear trembling mountains or crashing seas. Even if God can’t prevent bad things from happening, God CAN and WILL give us the strength to persevere, and it is this strenght that will allow us to NOT fear.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns…

God is in Louisiana. God is in Missisipi. God is helping…

God is helping through the victims themselves. John Burnett described these “moments of grace” on NPR’s All things Considered Friday. Fishermen in bass boats driving through the city trying to rescue people, doctors and nurses refusing to leave until their patients were cared for, neighbors helping neighbors…even the looters have begun sharing the food and water they had stolen. David Simon, a victim, says “the people are not gone, the spirit is still here; we can make it.” In sharing kindnesses, Burnett says that people have preserved their own dignity.

God is helping through children. A friend of mine has 3 little girls. They took all their vacation savings, plus all the change they could find in the house, plus all the money they could adorably con out of any adult they could find… and they went shopping. Quin, Presley, and Bergin took all the money they had gathered and used it to buy toiletries to take to the DC Armory where hurricane refugees are being housed. These three girls made a difference in the lives of people they have never met. God helped the people through these little girls, and through countless other children who are having lemonade stands and bake sales to raise money for the relief efforts.

God is helping through people in line at blood donor centers and through medical personnel who are going down to the affected areas to help. As people wait in line to give blood and countless others pack up preparing to leave families and friends to go help, God is at work.

God is helping through the grass-roots movements to provide housing for the displaced people. A whole world of people have networked via the internet, through friends-of-friends, through churches and relief organizations to provide housing and food for the thousands of people who have no place else to go.

God is helping through EACH individual who believes that they can do more, send more, help more, pray more, and love more. God is helping each time a parent helps a child to realize that there are “greater causes” than Barbie dolls and hotwheels. God is helping each time we buy cheap coffee instead of Starbucks and send the difference to the Red Cross. God is helping through the tired, overworked, under appreciated forces of the National Guard, who after spending months in the Gulf come home to help rather than see their own families.

God is helping…

And when everyone is out of danger…when the waters recede…when we have forgotten the tragedy of the past few days…

That is when God will need our help the most…when the morning finally dawns…

Next week when you’re buying cat litter and dog food, will you purchase an extra bag of food for a humane society over-filled with abandoned animals? 2 weeks from now, when you’re standing in line at the grocery store to refill your pantry, will you buy an extra can or two of food to send to a hungry family? 2 months from now when you are planning your thanksgiving feast, will you plan to send an extra check to the Red Cross? 3 months from now when you’re standing in line to purchase Christmas gifts, will you buy an extra toy to send to a displaced child? Next summer, when you’re planning a family vacation, will you plan instead to go rebuild a school, a daycare center, a church, or a house?

What will we do when morning finally dawns? Will we pat ourselves on the back for our immediate response and conveniently forget that the need doesn’t end when the television cameras leave? The news reports will stop soon…something more sensational, more “tragic” or more “newsworthy” will splash itself across our televisions screens and newspaper front pages. The camera crews will pack up, the tv helicopters will come back home and resume reporting on traffic, and the STORY will be over. The tragedy however, will not be over. There will still be thousands upon thousands of homeless people. There will still be loss and devastation. There will still be standing water, ruined property, lost lives, and broken hearts. The true test of our humanity will be our actions at THAT point. When its no longer “en vogue” to send supplies to Katrina’s victims. That is when God will need us most…

Yes…donate blood this week.
But when you’re eligible to donate again…do so.

Yes…send supplies now.
But when you buy toothbrushes for your family in a couple of months, buy a few extras and send them to a relief organization.

Yes…send money today.
But when your tax refund comes back next spring, send a little more.

Just because the psalmist says, “be still and know that I am God” it does not give us the right to STAND still in the midst of on-going suffering and tragedy. The psalmist understood that knowing God’s presence and taking refuge in God’s hope means that we have to be the instruments of that hope. And we have to be those instruments both today AND tomorrow-- In the midst of THIS disaster….in the face of the next disaster…in the face of the daily disasters of homelessness, hatred, and greed that we see each and every day.

Amen.