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Immanuel Baptist "On the Journey" Articles |
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| Facing the Reality of Devastation and Displacement with Prayer Will life ever be the same? Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Katrina are asking themselves that question. They are scattered across a half-dozen states. In the confusion of the evacuation, families were separated. Children and parents are waiting to be reunited. Thousands are waiting to learn if loved ones survived, or if the agony of learning a family member perished in the winds and waters of Katrina will intensify the anguish of the past 10 days. People engaged in the normal routine of life only days ago are today living among strangers, without jobs, and unsure if anything remains of their earthly treasure. The sick and injured are receiving gifts of compassion from strangers in distant cities far from their families. A few thousand souls are resisting authorities attempting to live midst the devastation surrounded by toxic waters afraid to leave their homes. Far from the destruction of Katrina, hundreds of thousands of Americans are asking themselves, “Will we ever be the same again?” Seared in our minds are the images of the poor, the elderly, and the sick frightened and huddled together in the Superdome waiting for relief. We cannot forget the doctors of Charity Hospital desperately seeking to care for their patients as flood waters filled to lower floors of the building. Lives were threatened by the loss of power to run respirators and other life-sustaining equipment. It is impossible to escape the nightmare of corpses floating in the waters or tied to telephone poles. A whole nation holds its breath praying that the estimated death toll is wrong. The dark images of violence tear at our souls. Far from the destruction, millions of people want to help. Arenas, stadiums, conventions centers, and gymnasiums are turned into shelters providing refuge for thousands of people. Legions of people are donating food, bottle water, cleaning supplies, and personal toiletries to be distributed in the devastated regions. The rich and the poor have pledged gifts reaching into millions of dollars for relief and reconstruction. Many people have been frustrated because they have not been able to find a satisfying or effective way to respond to the suffering of so many. Regrettably, the scope of the devastation overwhelmed our capacity to respond in an effective and timely manner. It is difficult to get a proper perspective in these days following this natural disaster. All kinds of people are attempting to get a handle on it. There are those who are counting the lives lost in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Others attempt to estimate the cost of the devastation. Economists attempt to access the impact upon our national economy. Governmental agencies seek to determine the scope of the response needed to meet immediate needs. Planners spin models of what will be required to clean-up the destruction and rebuild the villages, towns, and cities. Sociologists postulate what the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people with mean for their families and their communities. No one seems to know how long it will take to recover from this disaster. Perhaps, as people of faith, we should ask ourselves what has been revealed about the spiritual life of our nation by this disaster. Compassion has flowed to strangers. People have opened their hearts and their homes to the displaced. Countless people have been motivated to offer help and hope any way they can. Yet, I have sensed there are some deeper, maybe even darker, things we should consider. Where is our compassion for the elderly and the poor on sunny days? How do we, as people of faith and as a nation, deny the realities of the ravages of poverty in our land? What does it say about our values as a nation when the most vulnerable were left behind in New Orleans? What do we reveal about ourselves when the rest of the nation goes about business as usual while our neighbors are suffering? Why has there been no call for shared sacrifice? I confess that I do not have a vantage point from which to interpret this disaster. Yet, I keep asking myself, “Are we seeing the fruits of an unbridled materialism and a self-absorbed individualism in the rubble?” In my soul, I feel that Katrina exposes some serious symptoms of a collective disease. Somehow, it seems we have forgotten that we live in community. One life touches another life, for we do not live unto ourselves. If nothing else, the economic fallout resulting from the disaster should convince us of this. The gap between those living with affluence and those living with poverty is more like a canyon. Compassion and generosity in times of crisis do not bring with them justice. Still reeling from the images of Katrina, I call us to prayer. On our knees before God, we must pray for guidance in a time like this. Only prayer will lead us away from exhaustion and despair. As people of the cross and the empty tomb, we know not to be afraid. Yet, in prayer we must sit up higher, listen more carefully, and dream more courageously that we may be instruments of God’s compassion, care, peace, and justice for the sake of tomorrow. Please join me in praying for proper response to the realities we would have chosen to ignore if they had not been exposed by Katrina. When reviewing the history of the people of God, it becomes evident that devastation and displacement have often led to deeper understandings of God’s will for our world. Remember the Babylonian captivity inspired the vision of a suffering servant that was in time fulfilled by Jesus. May a prophet like Isaiah emerge among us.jamie |
Website last updated: Thursday, September 15, 2005 Website Related Questions/Comments: Chris Cash-ccash@vci.net |
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Immanuel Baptist Church - 3465 Buckner Lane - Paducah, KY, 42001 - 270.443.5306 - www.immanuel-paducah.org |