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 January
17, 2010
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
the Rev. George D. Smith
Isaiah
62: 1-5
1 Corinthians 12: 1-11
John 2: 1-11
Some
weeks pack in events and emotions that
are normally contained in an entire
year. This past week was one of those
weeks. Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti
began this emotional rollercoaster for
me and millions of others. It was about
4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon when I saw
an e-mail from a parishioner alterting
me to news of an earthquake in Haiti.
Then there was another e-mail from our
newsletter editor about receiving an
e-mail from Haiti missioner and St.
Mark’s parishioner Mallory Holding at
3:20 p.m., shortly before the earthquake.
Shortly after that, the Internet was
flooded with stories about an earthquake
measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale which
occurred near the center of Haiti’s
capital – Port-Au-Prince.
As
the hours passed, stories and pictures
of destruction appeared on the Internet
and TV news. With telephone and electricity
shut down, Twitter and Facebook were
the first places to offer glimpses of
the situation. Then began a time of
uncomfortable waiting and uncertainty.
How bad was the situation in Haiti?
How was Mallory Holding, who was working
and living at the Episcopal Seminary
of Haiti in the center of Port-Au-Prince?
The second question would go unanswered
through the night and into the next
day. It was clear that the answer to
the first question was that it was very
bad indeed. As the scope of the disaster
began to be known, and that the capital
had been devastated, the desire to know
the whereabouts and well-being of Mallory
became increasingly intense.
Manya
Brachaer who writes the Seeker column
for the on-line edition of the Chicago
Tribune covered the story of Mallory
and St. Mark’s in her Wednesday blog.
With media networking in full swing,
I began to receive calls from reporters
at NBC, ABC and WGN. NBC’s Alex Perez
was the first to make it out to Glen
Ellyn to talk to me. On camera, he asked
me several questions, such as “What
are you thinking when you see these
pictures of suffering?” “How are you
coping with the lack of word from Mallory?”
“What is St. Mark’s doing in this crisis?”
What I told him and other reporters
was that the waiting and silence were
very hard to deal with. We were keeping
Mallory, her family and all of Haiti
in our prayers, and getting any information
we had out through e-mail, web sites
and church networks. With nightfall
approaching and still no word, each
passing hour was more difficult. I told
Manya, Alex and other reporters, that
waiting is an essential part of faith.
The definition of hope is not seeing
any evidence of what you are praying
for or wanting to know. In the void
of evidence, hope is about remaining
focused on prayer and God’s presence.
Fortunately, the waiting did not continue
much longer. On Wednesday evening, Mallory
was able to make a call on a cell phone
to her mother in San Diego, and quickly
word spread that she was uninjured,
safe and camping out in a tent on a
soccer field next to the seminary complex.
That short but wonderful news was all
there was before her connection was
lost. It was a moment of Easter in a
time of great suffering and despair,
as the news continued to report that
thousands of people had died and many
more were injured in the earthquake
and its aftershocks.
Mallory’s situation has made the tragedy
in Haiti very personal – for me and
St. Mark’s. Someone we know, love and
care for was in the midst of terrible
destruction. There are earthquakes every
year, recently one in Java, Indonesia
– also a 7.0 on the Richter scale. But
this earthquake, being in Haiti, in
our hemisphere, where Mallory was a
missioner in a place of great poverty,
made this tragedy very personal and
real.
Over the past several days, we have
seen the good and the bad of this tragedy
unfold. For the good, there has been
a rapid response from around the world.
Technology has made it possible for
people around the world to know about
the situation. In a matter of hours,
millions of dollars were donated through
texting. The Red Cross has already received
over $10 million by people texting the
word “Haiti” to 90999 at $10 per text
– that’s a million texts in three days!
A map on the Red Cross web site shows
that 5% of all texts have come from
Illinois. Other good news is the example
of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush,
poltical opposites and rivals, working
together to lend their names, connections
and expertise to assist with the crisis.
Outpouring of support from the international
community is good news. Rescue teams
from France and China arrived in Haiti
72 hours after the earthquake. These
and other nations are pouring in shipments
of emergency supplies and personnel
to Haiti’s capital.
The bad news, ironically, has come from
several Christian voices. Pat Robertson,
on a segment of his show on the Christian
Broadcasting Network, stated that the
cause of the earthquake was part of
Haiti’s long-standing pact with the
devil made several hundred years ago.
As outlandish as this sounds, millions
of people listen and watch Pat Robertson.
Even with quick condemnation of his
remarks from other Christian leaders,
damage has been done – and people’s
minds influenced by a message that is
simply wrong at best and diabolical
at worst. Ratings for Pat Robertson
have gone up. Apparently Rush Limbaugh
didn’t want Pat Robertson getting all
of the negative press, so he had to
add his own two cents and spun the crisis
in Haiti as a political gift to the
Obama administration – providing the
president points with the “light-skinned
and dark-skinned blacks in this country.”
Seriously and mean-spirited, he also
said, “We’ve already donated to Haiti.
It’s called the U.S. income tax.”
I felt fortunate to have today’s scripture
readings in the back of my mind going
into the events of the past week, both
good and bad. They have provided a context
and pathway during a time of crisis,
suffering and frustration.
In the passage from Isaiah, God himself
speaks to us in and through another
crisis of epic proportions. The crisis
is the destruction of Jerusalem some
2,500 years ago by the Babylonian Empire.
The Temple had been destroyed, the people
evacuated and a once vibrant society
and ancient culture virtually wiped
out. Religious leaders were shouting,
“God has forsaken us.” And others, “There
is no God – or this would not have happened.”
Not unlike Haiti, Israel is called “Forsaken”
and “Desolate” by her neighbors, enemies
and own people. In spite of what religious
experts and powerful enemies have to
say, God promises a new name for his
people and Jerusalem. They will be called
“Married” and “My Delight Is in Her.”
The new name signifies hope, beauty
and one of profound relationship between
God and Israel.
This selection from Isaiah combined
with the Gospel reading from John, tell
us to see in the midst of life, even
in destruction, a wedding celebration
and marriage. This wedding is nothing
less than a recognition and celebration
of God’s marriage to all of humanity.
The water intended for purification
that is changed into wine is the water
of our faults, limits and sinfulness
into a wine of blessing and goodness.
Instead of water for washing away dirt
and impurities, we have wine to drink,
in a setting of dancing, laughter and
happiness. Through the signs of Jesus,
his life, death and resurrection, God
is married not just to Zion but to all
of humanity. That is why this is Jesus’
first miracle – at a wedding in Cana
of Galilee.
Every Sunday, we remember and renew
those wedding vows, in our prayers,
the reading of the Scriptures and in
the Eucharist. The wine is a key ingredient
in a wedding celebration that continues
to this day and always.
Many weddings, especially in recent
times, are short-term commitments, with
exit clauses and little attention to
the hard work that marriage entails.
A wedding with God, on other hand, means
more than just short-term love – but
a commitment that continues past the
honeymoon and into all of the troubles,
pain and joy of long-term relationship.
Marriage with God is eternal – and brings
promises of security, presence, forgiveness
and above all, delight.
One of the lessons of the past week
is to remember once again that God is
in love with Haiti – is married to its
people and its shattered land, deforested
mountains and wrecked economy. There
is no room for another lover, the devil
or anyone else. In this marriage, God’s
presence and power is undiminished,
search as you may for signs of separation
or divorce.
Today we are overjoyed that Mallory
Holding is safe and here in person for
us to see and to hug. We finally have
both hope and evidence. She has been,
is and will be a blessing to us and
Haiti, and we continue to pray for her,
her friends and colleagues in Haiti
and for all of Haiti. I think Mallory
is a special gift and call to St. Mark’s
– that she will help us remain mindful
and committed to Haiti once the crisis
has dropped off the WGN, NBC and ABC
radars. Yes, please support the emergency
efforts to bring food, water and medical
help to Haiti – and you can do so by
texting the Red Cross, making a donation
to Episcopal Relief and Development
or any number of charities. Then in
the coming weeks and months, let us
be committed beyond the emergency –
perhaps with Mallory’s guidance, to
offer ourselves – in prayer, time, and
relationship to Haiti. Perhaps we can
help purchase school uniforms, support
a micro-business, and adopt a school.
May we remember that we are married.
God is in the midst of our troubles,
waiting, tragedy and joy. We are partners
with God, married for ever. May we renew
our marriage covenant today, and do
our best to keep our vows – to respect
the dignity of all people, and in the
days ahead help the people of Haiti
with money and our prayers. We promise
to stay with them, and not forget or
turn our back as God does not nor ever
will.
Amen.
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