As usual, I've misplaced something I later (and not too much later) wanted to see/use/read. Usually it's something simple like my car keys, cell phone, specific book or the like but this time it's an article I read on my newsreader this morning about Haiti. I know, there are millions of words being written about Haiti right now but this was an article that spoke of the Haitians who, in the middle of the death, destruction, fear and chaos, lifted their voices in hymns and songs of and to God, Catholics and Protestants joining together to affirm their faith in God and their faithfulness. When the city goes dark at sundown, the voices sing to banish fear and feelings of isolation. I find it amazing and also tremendously touching.
I wonder, if such a thing as the earthquake demolished a whole city and devastated an entire area -- say Texas or New York or Los Angeles -- in the way Port-au-Prince and Haiti have been devastated, would the Americans have the same reaction? Would they be camped in parks and empty spaces and would they meet together for prayer and sing hymns through the night? Somehow I sort of doubt it.
Faith seems to be tremendously important in Haiti. I'm sure many take comfort in the knowledge that there is a God and that God has prepared a heaven for them which will be very different from what they experience and endure on earth but I think that they may find remembering the first commandment (and the first of the two Jesus put out) a lot easier than maybe most of us do. Maybe a lot of us, me included, let "stuff" get in the way. Oh, I know I send up arrow prayers when I get in a jam and then usually remember to say "thank you" when it's over, but other than that I seldom go beyond grace at meals and sometimes prayers at night when I can't sleep and I think of someone I know or have heard of who is in trouble of some kind. When something good happens i don't jump up and down and cry "Praise Jesus!" or "Thank you, Father!" or even start singing "Alleluia." No, I might be looked on as some sort of religious fanatic and embarrass others around me with my actions. It's just not part of my staid, solidly (and sometimes rather stuffy and joyless) Protestant upbringing, the kind that tells you to keep your chin up and have faith in God just don't go talking a lot about it.
At times it makes me ashamed that I'm so quick to forget God when things are going decently and also so quick to call on God to fix things when they go rotten. Somehow I don't seem to remember to thank God for just everyday things like air, food, water, shelter and care. I don't seem to thank God for the ability to do certain things, even if they are physically painful just as I don't thank God when I wake up in the morning or lie down at night. I don't know that I could thank God for the draft around my feet even though it meant I had a house that left the rest of me draft-free. I'm not sure I could praise God if all I had were the clothes I stood up in and no certainty of food, shelter or medical care anywhere. It makes me feel tremendously lacking in something.
The Jews have a way of remembering what's important. There are countless prayers that all begin the same way, Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha‑olam, "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, King of the universe" and which continues on to extol something that God has done for the people, from giving them candles to light on Shabbat to releasing them from captivity in Egypt. It gets the order right, praise God for some gift that benefits individuals and humanity in general, or even in times of trouble like hurricanes or earthquakes. It acknowledges that God is to be praised even when rotten things happen because God has a plan, God is in charge, God is God.
Béni soit l'Éternel, Baruch ata Adonai, Blessed be the Lord God the eternal who has given us life and hope in the midst of the unthinkable, or even the mildly uncomfortable.
UPDATE: Not 5 minutes after I posted this I found the article. You can see it here.
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