This is a sermon I delivered at a local church after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi.
I hear people talk about the hurricane and its aftermath. They are looking for some kind of larger meaning. I hear people say that it is God purging evil, punishing and testing his children. I do believe there is a greater meaning, but I know my God, and He is not a punishing God. God loves me completely and unconditionally. He loves me because He created me.
He does not need to test me. Because He created me he is certain of me, as He is certain of Himself. To doubt His creations, God would have to doubt Himself. Doubt is a human quality that we sometimes project onto God, but if we give it even a little thought we can see how patently absurd it is to see God as uncertain and doubtful.
As I look for the larger meaning of what has happened here, I see that what we experience in our outer world is a reflection of what is happening within ourselves, and within each of us is a little hurricane, brewing discontent. Each time we look with judgment upon a brother, the winds of this hurricane pick up. Each time we treat someone in a way we would not want to be treated ourselves, the hurricane within picks up momentum.
Every time we see someone suffering and look the other way, our own personal hurricane grows bigger. When we look at our brother and say he is wrong, he is different, he is less than, we sow the seeds of inner destruction. When we construct these invisible barriers that separate us from other brothers; he is from another country, speaks a different language, is a different color, has a different sexual orientation, goes to a different church, worships God in a different way, votes differently from me, watches movies and reads books I don?t approve of, raises their children differently than I do (the list is endless) we separate and make different.
God is not a god of separation and divisiveness. He is a God of unity and love. He is a God of inclusiveness. He made us in His image and so we, too, are meant to be united and loving and inclusive. When we see ourselves differently from the way God created us, the storm within brews.
God does not make hurricanes, or tsunamis, or earthquakes. God is not a murderer who destroys thousands of people. But God is in these situations. He is in this specific situation, and His presence brings meaning to what is happening to all of us. Because He is in this situation, we have His love and His comfort to sustain us. We have His strength to draw upon.
In order to calm the hurricane within, and to clean up the aftermath of these destructive thoughts, we only need to turn to our Father for help. We can bring Him our thoughts of separation and judgment, of guilt and fear, and He will lift us above the battleground of our inner turmoil. He will show us another way to think and to live.
In the aftermath of Katrina, we are given abundant opportunities to practice in the world the healing we want to effect within. We have the chance to give of our time, our energy, our money, and our spiritual support to those who now need us. If we are tempted to say that we want to help this one but not that one, we are given the opportunity to receive healing for that thought. Just as it rains on the just and the unjust, we send our love and support to all regardless of judgments we are tempted to make.
In this way we clean up after our inner hurricane as we clean up after the outer manifestation of that destructive force. There are so many opportunities for us right now. I don?t want to miss a one of them. When I see signs of bad behavior or seeming ingratitude, I have a choice in how I choose to perceive this. I can choose with my little ego and experience anger. Or I can choose with God and recognize these are a desperate and fearful people calling out for love in the only way they are able at this time. One choice feeds the next hurricane within, and the other feeds peace instead.
For those who have lost everything and are facing financial ruin, and perhaps have missing or lost relatives, there is a choice as well. Choose the unproductive path of anger and hopelessness, and certainly they won?t have to look far for justification for this choice, or choose for God. In choosing for God, they are choosing for life, for new beginnings, for another chance. In this choice they cannot fail for in God they have a powerful friend, because my God is an awesome God!
This is just as true for those of us who were not directly hit by the hurricane. At different times in our lives we are severely challenged. Sometimes it is through illness, or financial losses. Carolyn has shared with us her own personal challenge with her ex-husband, and we have seen how destructive that has been to her life. Some have experienced problems with addictions, or have relatives who have this challenge.
If you are in this life, you have or will have challenges. You, too, have those same two choices. Choose to hear the little voice of the ego talk to you about victimhood, blame, shame, fear and guilt, or choose to hear the Voice for God speak to you of strength, unity, abundance, power, and love.
Do not wait for circumstances that prove God is in your life, because it is your claim on Him that changes the circumstances in your life. Step out on faith, walk on water. Give God all the thoughts that speak to the littleness in life, and allow Him to replace them with His thoughts. Then step back and watch the miracles take place all over your life!
As the winds die, the skies clear, the water begins to recede, the real work begins. Those who came from New Orleans have come with little more than their lives and their faith, but it is a strong foundation on which to build. Those of us who were not directly involved are also touched by their plight. We are first reminded of our own vulnerability, and this brings our fears to the surface. We too, are left with work to do as we allow our fears to be healed and begin again with a clean slate.
What do we want to build on that slate? Do we want to build the same old thing? I don?t. I want to take full advantage of this opportunity to receive many healings. I ask the Holy Spirit to come into my mind and to correct my thoughts where they do not reflect the love I was created to be. And I want to use these outward opportunities to express this love. This is my practice. This is how I make my expression of love perfect.
I ask God, ?How might I be of service? What would you have me do?? There is so much to do I hardly know where to start, but I know that it is important that I do start. In the face of the horrible destruction and the seeming impossibility of dealing with the aftermath, assimilating the homeless and finding a way to help them get back on their feet, I start to feel helpless, to feel so overwhelmed. It also brings up in me my own fears of being vulnerable. If I stay hooked into the drama of what is going on, the fear will take over and fear always brings with it blame, hate and violence. How can I get past these feelings?
I read this from an article by Rev. Sue Borg of Salt Lake City: When our focus is on helping, our minds move away from fear and anxiety to a place of peace and clarity. There is no place where love and fear can exist simultaneously, so if peace is your goal, you must find a place to share your kindness and service and then watch how things change.
Once again, I have reason to be grateful to this church where I am given a place to do this, and the joy of uniting with others as I do it. I am grateful that I have the chance to give my time and effort to the hurricane victims. I am also grateful that I can share my peace, my joy, my spiritual faith with them and with all others God sends to me. The thing is, I cannot share what I do not have. So I must be mindful of that inner work, as well as its expression in the outer world.
It is very easy to become drawn back into the drama of what is happening around us. But there is a place I can be where I honor the story of what is happening, and yet I don?t believe in it. This is what Jesus showed us through the loaves and fishes. He saw that the people were hungry. He honored that need by supplying food, but he did not buy into their belief in lack. He used this opportunity to teach that there is no lack. He is telling us in this story that what we need will be supplied when we are faithful to our belief in abundance through Him.
So this tells me that I am to supply a seeming need, while keeping my faith that in spite of appearances, there is plenty. It is just as much my job to remain steadfast in my belief in God?s presence, in His Love, and in His power in our lives, as it is to gather supplies, prepare food, and write checks.
This seems to be a moment by moment job. My friend said something to me that is very helpful. She suggested that I not look too far ahead; that I ask of God, ?What can I do in this moment.? She also reminded me that this works well in maintaining my peace as I remind myself that in this single moment, I can have peace. That has become my mantra. As I center myself in God, I am peaceful and so I have tamed the hurricane within. Now I have something of real significance to give.
I invite you to meet the challenge before us. This is what Jesus taught us to do through many stories in the New Testament. Helping each other when we are in need is at the core of Christianity. Go to the civic center and volunteer for a few hours. Come here to see how you can help. Give of your time, your money, your prayers, of the many blessings you have been given. But most of all, do not buy into or support those thoughts and words of divisiveness and fear and hate that we are beginning to hear. Be true to your faith. Be strong in your faith. Allow God to work through you.
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