The disaster in Haiti can be overwhelming to think about. We know that tens of thousands are likely dead as a result of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. We know that millions of people have been impacted, most without access to food, water, shelter and electricity. Most of us in the U.S. are not directly impacted by the Haitian tragedy. Especially for those of us who claim to be Christ followers, what should be our response? Here are just a few of my personal thoughts on this Saturday afternoon.
1. We should engage. We need to lower our own barrier to the pain of this tragedy. We each have a built-in protection mechanism when it comes to someone else's problem. While there are those who are naturally empathetic, the majority of us protect ourselves emotionally by building a wall around our feelings. When we see pictures or video of the enormous and tragic misery of the Haitian victims, we figurative (and perhaps literally) turn the emotional channel. We may be thankful it wasn't us. We may rationally tell ourselves that there is little to nothing we can do. We may ask, "What difference can I make?" The fact is that we are all part of the human family. When tragedies like this happen, it affects us all. We are more human, not less, when we weep with a father who doesn't know whether or not his daughter has survived. We are more like God, not less, when we allow ourselves to experience the pain of a thirsty and orphaned child.
2. We should pray. We should not ignore our impulse to be angry, to be sad, to wonder why. Rather we should engage the God of the universe with our emotions and our hurt and our sense of futility. God is not afraid of the question, "Why?" nearly as much as we are. God does not need protection from tough questions. He welcomes them. The worse response to God is to ignore Him. Take your sadness, your anger, your hurt to Him. Then take your requests to Him. We know that the greatest number of potential deaths from this earthquake still could be in the future. More people could die from the breakdown of services than have died already from the initial quake. So pray for God to enable great wisdom and leadership. Pray not only for the hearts of compassionate people to respond, but for wise distribution of supplies to be made to the victims.
3. We should give. We serve a giving and loving God. When God is living in and through us, we become giving as well. Some of us have more to give than others, but we all have something to give. Money, resources, influence, prayers, writing. No one of us can solve the problem. But we each can contribute to the solution. Church Requel using most of its remaining Matthew 25 Fund gave $500 as a donation to the Haiti Relief Fund through Compassion International.
4. We should gather. This is not a time to be alone, sitting by ourselves watching the tragic events unfold on cable TV. This is the time to gather together as God's people in God's house. This weekend should be the opportunity to go to church, to share the Haitian tragedy, to pray together, and to do more as a body of Christ than we could ever do by ourselves. It should not be business as usual this weekend in our churches.
As a pastor this weekend, I have more questions than answers, more disquiet than reflection, and more heartache than inspiration. I feel vulnerable and weak - knowing that parishioners will come to my church looking to me for guidance, for an explanation, for the "why?" And it is in hours like these that I must be my most honest and transparent, not ready to give the easy answers or point to the proof texts of my Bible. Instead, this is the hour that I weep alongside of the hurting. This is the weekend when my priestly duty is not to be the teacher, but to be the loving brother humbly praying alongside to our loving Father. This is the weekend when my leadership role is to be the fellow follower of the Son. This is the weekend when my spirit must be most fully submitted to His Spirit, admitting my own spiritual poverty in the face of such desolation in Haiti.
May God give me and other pastors around the U.S. great wisdom, love and humility as we minister this weekend to our congregations.
