February 27, 2011

Ann Mellor

Epiphany 8     Isaiah 49:8-16a     Matthew 6:24-34

Well, this past week has been trying times for all New Zealanders. There have been tears as we sit and watch the news feeling helpless. Tears as we hear stories told by friends, tears as we can hardly come to grips with the immense tragedy. Today, there are no differences between us in our small island nation. We are all just New Zealanders who have been assaulted by the horrors and tragedy of the natural disaster of the Christchurch earthquake. We have been shaken with fear and as we fall into despair and darkness we risk having our spirits broken.

This past week my feelings have been pulled between sorrow, sadness, fear, shock, helplessness, compassion, frustration, concern – as I’m sure yours were too. There was an intensity of emotions colliding with the depth of our feelings, overwhelmed by the magnitude of these tragic events.

As I reflected on the readings and prepared for today I asked myself how was I coping.

The first thing I felt I had was a strong belief that God is a compassionate God, who shares our journeys of deep sadness and despair, as well as our times of laughter and celebration. And that I did not have to defend God in the face of this disaster. God was already there. Weeping.

Also I remember that God is a God of hope and the God of light. I found this hope in the stories of amazing bravery. I found this light through the whole world responding in words and action which helped keep my spirits strong. 

 The second thing I felt I had was a belief that in the telling and listening to the stories I, and we, could find the clues for coping. I don’t have to cope alone. Everyone I meet in business, on the street, in the malls and in our church feel the same. We are community. We are new Zealanders. People of all faiths and backgrounds are joining together to lift up their hearts, their spirits and their voices. In an instant, priorities were changed and values converted. Out of the very worst comes the very best – through the heroic efforts by firefighters, police and rescue personnel; through the thousands of caring and compassionate volunteers who stepped forward in this time of crisis.

It is indeed here in the rough plains, in the tragedy of the Christchurch earthquake, rather than on the high mountain tops, where I have found God presence over the past week in ways far beyond y limited imaginings.

In recent days there has been one word that I have heard used in speeches, reports and prayers which has lifted my spirits, and that word is – resilient. 

The resilience is in the dedication and commitment to make things better in whatever way we can. The Cantabrians are a people who will bounce back. I think an interview on Radio New Zealand with the mayor of San Francisco spoke to those feelings for me. He explained how that city has grown back to be shinier and safer after the earthquake of 1989 and that there is hope. I could relate to his message as I lived in San Francisco during the time of that devastating earthquake. The football stadium collapsed during the game. The two story freeway collapsed squashing vehicles and people, and I still have the image of cars teetering over the edge of the broken bridge about to fall in the water meters below. Today I still carry the fear of a motorway collapsing if I am held up in traffic under the overpass at Spaghetti Junction – some 20 years later. 

However I understand that we need to be moved more by compassion for one another rather than fear and horror of this natural disaster. In the days ahead, we should be interested more in helping people to channel their energies to serve a greater good, to continue to be the resilient people we claim to be. The simple act of attending, paying attention to the suffering of others, begins to remove our differences, to soften us. That kind of solidarity or coming alongside is one kind of freedom we’ve been given in this tragedy. We have been given an expanded vision to see that where God’s spirit is working there is freedom. As we read in 2 Corinthians 3:v 17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit of the lord is, there is freedom”. We are seeing this love in Christchurch as the community comes together to work tirelessly to pick up the pieces.

By far, this has been the most difficult sermon I have had to prepare. So much needs to be said, but where are the proper words? What can be said at a moment like this in history? What words adequately can convey the horror and shock we feel at this catastrophic event. These are difficult times with no quick and easy answers, just – Why?…Why?…Why? The answer depends on the God we image.

There is of course the good and the bad news depending on your view of God. There is the intervening all controlling God who leaves some of us behind at Judgment Day. But I ask how can it be that this God can save one person from dying in the earthquake and not another? This is be bad news God where religion relies on threats and control. Rather, I believe God is the heart of reality. God as love is with us in our pain, and in our joy. Jesus walks beside us as we journey, as we are invited to a new life, one that transforms us personally. It is this love, this God that is revealed to us through the aftermath of the destruction in Christchurch, which gives hope to the people of resilience.

The readings this morning invites us to love in constant communion with God. We are called in these readings to rest in God and find life. To build a relationship of trust and intimacy with God who is close, more intimate to us than we are to ourselves, who walks with us. We can share our delight, sufferings, worries, plans with God. We are God. We are not alone, not even in the darkest and hardest moments.

Epiphany is a time of the Christian year when we wonder at the revelation of God to the world in Jesus Christ. It is a time when we recall the public life of Christ, including the miracles he performs, and his unfailing compassion for others. Epiphany is the season of compassionate encounter when Jesus shows us God's unconditional love for all people. And it is during Epiphany now that we witness that love through the Christ church disaster. We see people hugging strangers, calming those still seeking their loved ones, rescue teas, media and all the post earthquake personnel who are committed to the job, showing resilience and love. God's compassion is made clear in and through those who are being ministered to. This is a deeply disturbing, tragic, yet intensely sacred time for our country and as we see the love working amongst people we can return to our life with greater hope.

In the gospel reading we are encouraged to not worry about what you will drink, or what you will wear or what you will eat. And we need to hear this now more than ever. If we worry we stop still and there can be no action, no love. The reading calls us to take God seriously and live each day confidently, knowing that this will bring us a freedom to live a true life.

In Matthew we are told to ‘strive first of the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’. As we see treasures, homes, memories destroyed in the earthquake we turn our minds and hearts on the treasures of God. What is important is how we reach out to others. It is the caring, kind thoughtful moments we offer that are our real treasures. These are the things we will take to God in our suitcase! In the Gospel of Matthew we are warned “for your heart will always be where your riches are”. We are being called to a simplicity of heart – a total devotion to God alone. Our personal treasures are not our master, and we must ask whether our property is to be served or to serve, and for what. It is a summons to not be self sufficient but to trust God with a whole and undivided loyalty. I have heard often in interviews from Christchurch the response ‘the house and the building doesn’t matter, it’s the people we care about’.

So what can we do? How do we respond? How do we focus, or channel, our pent-up feelings and emotions to do something?

The Anglican church has set up a fund through Bishop Moxon, so that offers of accommodation and financial assistance can be directed properly. On Tuesday this week Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell is holding a service at 12.30-12.50 with silence for those who have died and prayers for those suffering and the workers in Christchurch.

I propose that each one of us resolves in a greater way seeking to walk in the light of God, and not give in to despair; that each one of us resolves to be a person of compassion, and not of contempt; that each one of us pray with great expectancy, and with firm resolve that this day, and every day, that we become instruments of Christ’s peace and the Grace of God.