Matthew 7:3 ff

Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.

Sermon Text

This morning I had intended to preach in a general way about Christian vocation, but the events of the last week were so dramatic and are so much on everyone's mind that I decided instead to preach about our vocation during this time of crisis.

It's beginning to look like America is in for tough times, for there will certainly be economic repercussions from last week's disaster. The interruption of oil shipments and damage to refineries will have a ripple effect in our economy, say some experts. There is talk of another recession. Life for many citizens who have already been hard pressed is likely to get even harder. Hanover's food closet and clothes closet will be serving more people, no doubt. In ways that we have not yet imagined, the months ahead will try our endurance and Christian devotion; and I'm speaking not just about the call to help the homeless refugees from the stricken area, but also needy people in our own city.

I'm sure that some preachers will make hay of Katrina's devastation, saying that it's a sign of God's wrath. But I don't believe that God whips up hurricanes, or blows them this way or that. Hurricanes are part of God's good creation. They cleanse. They invigorate species more than they harm them. To see a hurricane as punishment shows just how self-centered and myopic a human outlook can be. No, our suffering from this mighty storm is not God-willed. It comes from our failure to face hard political decisions, like not building cities below sea level, seeing to the transportation needs of the poor so that they can flee when there is a need to evacuate, and insuring the safety of poorer people all across our country who live in flood plains because that's where the land sells cheap. Those longstanding and widespread failures of political courage have caused the suffering of the past week, not God's wrath.

Great suffering has the potential for prodding a people toward the good. Despite the loathsome violence of nine eleven, some Americans had hoped that something good might nevertheless ensue from that horrible day. These Americans harbored a wee hope that the suicidal fury of the 9-11 Saudi Arabian terrorists might persuade our country to re-examine its longstanding strategy of propping up dictators to keep the oil flowing. But no. In response, we didn't do the hard thing. We refused to consider the reasons for the terrorists' fury. And we didn't work on the oil supply problem by conserving. Instead, we started a war on terror and tried by military might to secure the second biggest oil fields in the world.

Now there's been a war of sorts in the Big Easy. Some folk there are fed up. Ignored for so long, even before the storm, and left behind during the evacuation, some shot at rescue helicopters to get attention. "Hey! Don't you see me down here? Don't you care?" That isn't hooliganism. That's terrorism born of years of frustration, and finally desperation. We've seen this before. How long will it take us to learn? The immediate response from our nation's leader was: There will be zero tolerance for such behavior! Said a Louisiana politician, "The soldiers are on the way and their rifles are locked and loaded." That's the same response we used in the "war against terror" after desperate people said through violence that they were fed up. When will we stop trying to solve the problem of violence with more violence? When will we have the courage to look at ourselves honestly and acknowledge that we largely create the conditions that fuel the resentment, which eventually explodes into mayhem?

So many good-hearted people want to help now, and that's wonderful! There will be many ways to help for months to come; and, as I pointed out earlier, there's work to do right here at home, not just in the storm stricken area. Yes, the aftermath of Katrina has motivated some citizens to acts of heroism, and is moving many more to acts of charity; and all that is very good. But the aftermath of Katrina should also move us to repentance. Look at the pictures of the refugees in the papers and on the Internet. The stranded refugees were almost all black. Should that not move us to repentance? Should we not ask ourselves: What are the connections between being black and being ignored and abandoned? That question should be chewed on all across this nation, not just in Louisiana.

As Wilmington churches come together to address the problem of violence, which kills and maims mostly young black men here, we are dealing with that same question. And so, if anyone asks me what I'm doing to help the survivors of hurricane Katrina, I'll tell them that I have contributed to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; but I'll also tell them that I'm working with other citizens of Wilmington in the Interfaith Coalition to see that we don't keep making the same mistake here, that is, the mistake of ignoring poor people, and largely, black people.

Hanover is a church poised to render the kind of thoughtful and thorough aid that I have talked about in this sermon. We are racially diverse, socio-economically diverse, and we have been involved in peacemaking for quite a while. I believe that God is calling us not only to alleviate the suffering of hurricane victims, but also to work in Wilmington on the same sorts of problems that have given rise to civil strife after this terrible storm. I believe that Katrina has produced a kairos, that is, a time of spiritual testing and opportunity. I don't believe that God caused Katrina to slam into New Orleans and throw our nation into crisis; but now that that has happened, I do believe that God cares very much how we handle ourselves in this kairos.

Blaming is a common response after a tragedy. Yes, mistakes were made in this case, and certain people were responsible for making them. But Katrina has called us all to repentance, to look at the way we have been spending our time, our money, and our votes, to reconsider the international and national policies that we citizens have supported. It's too easy to blame the plight of the Big Easy on national or local officials. We have all participated in the Big Easy, for the Big Easy is much bigger than New Orleans. The Big Easy is America. It's time for us to stop doing the easy thing when tragedy strikes, that is, blaming. Instead it's time to reclaim our responsibility as citizens so that we can change what has contributed to this catastrophe. May God's holy spirit grant us the wisdom and the courage to answer that calling.