Open Window

Jeremy and I were talking a few minutes ago about the 'Kingdom Response to Katrina'. And it made me ask the question; is this a teaching moment for the Church?

It is difficult to look at the devastation wrought by Katrina without labeling it a catastrophe. And while the force of the wind and rain is certainly a natural catastrophe - some are calling the local and federal evacuation a human catastrophe. This post isn't about pointing fingers or trying to lay blame on an already bleak situation. If anything, I ask, why did the church (as a whole - yes, Salvation Army and a few others came to the rescue) sit back and assume the government had everything under control as the storm laid waste to Alabama and Louisiana's shoreline? No, this is not a blame game, but an effort to see how God might want to redeem the suffering caused by Katrina.

As America watched the news each night in the aftermath of Katrina, we were deeply moved by the suffering it caused. I remember tears stinging my eyes as I listened to NPR. I turned to Jeremy later that night and said, "It's the needy who are suffering the worst. The poor, the sick, the elderly." Certainly poverty is at the forefront of the public's mind now. There is not an American who can argue, after Katrina, that poverty is a non-issue in this country.

I wish the government's evacuation effort had been seamless. I wish the Church would have anticipated needs and initiated widespread relief efforts sooner than it has. Had it been only a natural catastrophe, however, we would have shaken our heads at the flattened homes and the flooded streets and gone about our day. It is much more difficult to ignore the hungry pleas of people who have lost what little they have and are desperate for safety. So, hopefully this one good, at least, can come out of the unimaginable suffering of Katrina victims. We can no longer ignore the issue of poverty in this country (or our neighborhoods).

Over and over in Scripture God admonishes us to care for the sick, the poor, the elderly, the widow. And yet, we live in a culture that believes this is the government's job. Subsidized housing, welfare, homeland security... they'll take care of the needy. We assume that it's the government's role to play the Good Samaritan while we drive by in ignorant bliss. But God can, in all things, work for the good of those who love him. He can bring good out of Katrina's devastation, and so this is a good day to be a part of the Church. I believe that the nation's conscience has been raised, people's hearts softened and their ears opened in a new way to the issue of poverty in our (global and local) world. This may be a short-lived season, a temporarily open window - of sorts - during which we can call the Church to represent God as advocates for the needy.

There's a single mother (not included in Biblical lists of 'needy' because it's such a recent cultural phenomenon) that lives across the way from us. She has three small children. She can't get a job that could afford child care so she doesn't work. She doesn't have a car. She doesn't have a phone. She doesn't have a computer. She may not be a victim of hurricane Katrina, but she's a victim of life... and she desperately needs someone to offer relief for her needs. Perhaps that's why God's been bringing her to my mind so much...