Katrina_sermon
A SERMON OF HOPE FOR LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES
IN RESPONSE TO THE DEVASTATION
OF HURRICANE KATRINA
“FORWARD IN FAITH: FACING FEAR, FACING THE FUTURE”
TEXT: (NRSV) PSALM 57:1 “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.”
And so we weep. The images of devastation of a city and citizens under water compel us to weep. The looks of amazement and daze-ment on the faces of southern refugees of every age and color pierce our hearts and so we weep some more. Our country is brought to its knees because many of her sons and daughters have been battered, buffeted, bruised, and left bloody. Homes are destroyed; schools, hospitals, libraries, museums, restaurants and taverns, gas stations and supermarkets are obliterated.
Our weeping is joined by the wailing of those who suffer from broken homes, broken bodies, broken dreams, and broken hearts. Many need to be cared for. Much needs to be done.
But first, all we do is weep. It’s okay to weep. King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:4 even says there is a time when it is good to weep. I’m reminded of the little girl who was late in coming home from her errand to the grocery store for her mother. When finally she arrived home, her mother questioned her about her tardiness. The little girl told how she had seen one of her classmates on the way back from the store. The friend was sitting on the curb because she had dropped a dollar down the sewer drain.
The mother then asked her daughter, “So you’re late because you helped her get her dollar back?”
“No, Mommy,” said the daughter. “I’m late because I sat down on the curb with her and helped her cry.”
For a time, we too “sit on the curb and help others cry.” But only for a time. We are called to go forward in faith. We who are claimed by the Lord Jesus Christ in Baptism can face the fear of devastation and its aftermath as well as face the future with hope and expected joy. A great hymn reminds us of this:
“Let us suffer here with Jesus,
And with patience bear our cross.
Joy will follow all our sadness,
Where He is there is no loss.
Though today we sow no laughter,
We shall reap celestial joy;
All discomforts that annoy
Shall give way to mirth hereafter.
Jesus here I share Your woe;
Help me there Your joy to know.”
Going forward in faith is our Christian response to God’s calling. We can be assured and assure others that because Jesus is in charge, and in control, and in love with us, we have a refuge and sanctuary in the midst of all life’s storms.
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King David reminds us of this in our text today. In the Psalm, David not only recognizes that life often holds the dangers of death and destruction, but whatever the storm, our one God has mercy on us and offers us refuge in Him.
David’s words reflect his particular storm of calamity. King Saul was pursuing him to kill him. Today our storm is not so much flesh and blood but of deluge and drowning, of disease and despair, of devastation and defeat. But King David would have us know the God who rescued him from the storm called Saul is the same God who will rescue us from the storm called Katrina.
Of course the question: “Why did this happen?” will be mouthed over and over again. The answer needs to be stated. We are sinful people who live in a sinful world where death and tragedy happen all too often. Sadly, many will blame God for this crisis but the truth of the matter is that it is our fault for ruining creation with our sin, which causes earthquakes, tornados, floods, and hurricanes. St. Paul writes in Romans 8:20-22: “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage and decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning…” Creation is groaning under the havoc we have wreaked with our sin! Hurricane Katrina and her catastrophic consequences have proved this but again.
Oh, but let me quickly remind you of the truly Good News: we are not left without help, hope, or healing. Because we have Jesus and His mercy we have all we need to overcome. It is as St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.” Jesus, who has liberated us from our sin, will also liberate us from the destruction our sin has caused. His love, which led Him to die for us, is the same love that causes Him now to live with us. His power, which overcame the devil, death, and hell, is the power that will lift us out of the deeps the hurricane and its aftermath have sent us. As we again see the cross where Jesus died, we are assured that a God who would rescue us from eternal destruction will rescue us from earthly devastation. The wounds Jesus willingly received show the depth and determination He will endure to deliver us from catastrophe and calamity.
See, we can go forward in faith. We can face our fears and face the future because Jesus has claimed us as His own and now goes with us as we continue life’s journey. His presence assures us He’s in charge, He’s in control, and He’s in love with us.
Jesus is in charge. The superlatives He uses in His Word show this is true.
A superlative is when an extreme expression is used. Composition teachers and English professors scold students for using superlatives, but Jesus used them freely.
In John 10:10, He says, “I come to give life and give it abundantly.” That’s a superlative. In John 15:11, He says, “I have told you this so that My joy would be in you and that your joy would be complete.” That’s a superlative. And in John 8:34 and 36, He says, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin … but if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!” Again, Jesus uses a superlative. Jesus’ use of superlatives points to the fact that He’s in charge. No wonder when He bids the disciples to do the great commission He first establishes His credentials as leader by saying: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”
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Jesus is not only in charge, He’s still in control, even following the storm. Jesus can and does cause changes to occur even when the crises seem beyond everyone’s help. From the wedding at Cana to His own resurrection from the dead, Jesus caused changes to occur which greatly effected and altered the supposed outcome.
Permit me to offer an illustration: A centerfielder was having a terrible game out on the baseball field. After his third error in one inning, the manager benched this player and took the position himself. The first batter hit a pop fly into centerfield and the manager/player had it, but lost it in the sun. The ball bounced off the manager’s head. The second batter hit a line drive to the manager. Because the manager tripped, the ball smashed the manager’s nose before falling to the ground. The third batter sent the manager all the way back to the fence with a long hit and just as the manager was about to catch the ball and make an out, he misjudged the fence and tumbled over it. After regaining his balance, the manager ran to the dugout, grabbed the original centerfielder by the jersey and screamed at him, “Do you see what you’ve done? You have so ruined centerfield even I can’t do anything with it!”
Friends, our Jesus is still in control. We haven’t so ruined this world that He throws up His hands in defeat and surrender. But instead He says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world!” Jesus is in charge and He is still in control.
Best of all, Jesus is still in love with us. The love Jesus has is not sappy sentimentality or empty emotionalism, it is a depth of compassion and love that drove Him to sacrifice Himself on Calvary’s cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It is a love that would not tolerate His alienation or separation from us even though we caused it. Often in the Gospels we are told that Jesus had “compassion” for people. The Greek word “compassion” is “spa lag na.” This word doesn’t just mean a pity or sympathy, but literally means to feel pathos from the bowels of one’s being (we would say “from the center of one’s gut”). Because “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” this depth of compassion Jesus feels for His people will not change or end.
As we continue to see the destruction of hurricane Katrina we will weep. But that’s not all we’ll do. We are people with hope and that hope is the Son of God, Jesus the Savior. He is with us so we can go forward in faith, facing our fears and the future. He who loved us enough to die and rise for us is still in charge, in control, and in love with us.
Until the destroying storms pass, we find refuge in His mercy, under His wings forever and ever and ever, Alleluia.
Amen.
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