“Pray, and do not lose heart”

Lectionary 29 C 2007

Luke 18:1-8

              Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray and not to lose heart.  Have you ever experienced that?  Have you ever felt like giving up?  We just got back from a mission trip to Biloxi, MS.  Sixteen of us traveled to Bethel Lutheran Church where they have set up an amazing “Ministry of Hope” to help individuals and the community to recover from the worst natural catastrophe in American history, Hurricane Katrina.  In terms of its power, Katrina is actually ranked number 3, Hurricane Camille, which happened in 1968, is number one with winds over 210 miles per hour.  Based on total destruction, however, Katrina is number one. 

            Donna Tasker, a resident of Biloxi and a retired nurse from the Gulfport, VA Hospital, gave a presentation on Katrina for the 50 some volunteers staying at Bethel Lutheran Church.  She talked about the impact of the largest natural disaster hitting the poorest state in the U. S.  It is recorded that Katrina produced a wall of water 30 feet high in some places, traveling as far as 12 miles inland.  In her blog for the Republican Eagle, Ruth Nerhaugen described it this way:  “And it wasn’t a creeping flood.  It would be like the Mississippi River rising up as high as the St. James Hotel and rushing all the way to Goodhue, then almost immediately rushing back to its banks in Red Wing – taking with it buildings and animals and cars and people.  In Mississippi alone, 235 people were lost, almost 70,000 homes were destroyed and about 66,000 had major damage.  That’s not counting the apartment buildings and schools and businesses.  If you piled up the 118 million cubic yards of debris on a football field, she said, it would be 10.5 miles high.”  These are statistics that are beyond comprehension.  The area of destruction is about equal to the size of Great Brittan.  It would be easy for the people of Mississippi to give up and lose heart.

            So, what keeps the people going, you might ask?  Well, it is the efforts of volunteers like us who come from all over the United States who give of their time and energy and money to help rebuild their homes and lives.  I heard it more than once, “If it wasn’t for the volunteers, we would have given up long ago.  Thank you for coming. It is the only thing that gives us hope.”

            Our group was assigned to work at Peter Poulard’s house in East Biloxi, an area made up mostly of African American and Asian people.  Peter’s house was built by his great-grandfather in the 1920’s.  His 94 year old grandmother, Ms. Francis, lives two houses down, and his twin brother, Paul, and his father James, live near by.  Just before Katrina hit, Peter had to be convinced by his family to evacuate.  He was planning a cookout that Sunday and didn’t want to leave.  Reluctantly, he went to his cousin’s house where he ended up living for the next three months.  When the flood water came, it reached up to the top of the front door of his house and stayed there for four hours.  The only good thing was that Peter’s house was not swept away like many of the neighboring houses.  When we drove up to Peter’s house for the first time, I remember seeing these empty lots with over-grown grass and weeds.  There used to be houses there.  After three months, Peter got a FEMA trailer to live in right next door to his house.  Mucking, cleaning and renovation work had started on Peter’s home, but the group from Billy Graham’s ministry left in February.  Nobody else had worked on Peter’s house until we arrived, which had become a Habitat for Humanity house.  Our group worked mostly inside doing finishing work.  We laid laminate and linoleum flooring, put on baseboard and trim, installed kitchen cabinets, replaced a door frame, and painted siding made of concrete and paper.  We actually accomplished a lot of work, even with our morning and afternoon coffee breaks.  You always have to have snacks, you know.  We got our coffee from Jr.’s convenient store, owned by a young Vietnamese man who told us, “any time you need coffee just come in and I’ll make you a pot,” and treats from the Vietnamese bakery down the road. 

            Some in our group worked in the free medical clinic run out of the church, processing intakes, doing counseling, providing doctor’s care.  It is the only free clinic along the coast and they have to fight to keep it open and operating.  They were busy all day long and have some amazing stories to tell.  Some of our group also worked at the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen, where they fed up to 80 people per day.  Ruth and Stan were our cooks at the church, planning the menu, shopping for the food, preparing our breakfasts and dinners.  As it turned out, we had a well-balanced group made up of different skills and interests.

            When you go on a trip like this, the greatest joy is in the relationships you build with the people there.  We became close with Peter and his family and friends.  His friends would tease Peter by saying, “We got to get this house done so Peter can finally get married to Jane,” his fiancé, “and move in.”  Their appreciation was expressed in the best Bar-B-Q dinner I have ever had on Thursday night.  It was very emotional saying goodbye to our new made friends and leaving the house behind for the next group to finish.  We also traveled to New Orleans on Friday night to see what it looked like.   That’s a story for another time. 

            That is a short description of our trip.  Our motivation, of course, in going on a mission trip like this is Jesus Christ.  He has called us to be his disciples and to live out our faith in loving service to our neighbor.  It is a small, yet effective faith response for what Jesus has given to us through his death and resurrection. 

            In the parable Jesus tells us to be persistent in prayer and not to lose heart. The widow, who had a need for justice, went to a judge who neither believed in God nor respected people.  The judge ignored her request for a while until he couldn’t take it any longer.  The woman continued to come back, like a boxer who does not know when to throw in the towel, she continues until the judge gives in, giving to her the justice she was seeking.  God is like that, Jesus says, only better, because God is righteous.  He asks, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”  Jesus tells us to keep on praying. God hears the prayers and petitions of his people and will provide the justice that is needed.  There is no doubt about that.  The Son of Man will come.  Justice will be given.  The hungry will be fed.  The naked will be clothed.  The homeless will find shelter.  The prisoners will be set free.  The oppressed will find relief.  The sick will be healed.  The grieving will be comforted. 

            In response to Jesus’ question: “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” the answer is “Yes.”  In our praying, faith is revealed.  Through our praying, our lives are transformed and we begin living according to God’s will and purpose for us in this life, which is expressed in deeds of love, in acts of service, in mission trips that gives hope that God has not forgotten, nor forsaken his people.  The Son of Man has come and will come again.  The kingdom of God is among us now.

            In closing, I want to share part of song that was written after Hurricane Katrina by a volunteer named Gary Peterson.  It is entitled Eyes of Hope.

            Let us see your eyes of peace, eyes of wonder, eyes of joy, eyes of surprise,

            Let us see eyes of hurt, eyes of forgiveness, eyes of pain and eyes of love.

            But never again, Lord; this I pray, never again, let us see your eyes without     hope.

Dear friends, keep on praying.  Keep on serving.  Keep on doing acts of love.  The Son of Man will indeed find faith on earth.  Amen.