A liitle girl from our church died last week. She was eight years old. She'd had heart trouble since birth and it just gave out on the playground one day. Yesterday, during our regular church service, our pastor talked about life and death and Sasha. This happens at churches. When the rhythms of life are jolted by something that seems out of sync with what we expect it causes most any human being or gathering of human beings to pause and consider the truth of our fragile existence. Near the end of the service a remarkable thing happened. Our pastor invited anyone who wanted to gather around the family while he prayed for God's comfort. Instantly people rose to their feet as if one body and made their way to the family. I wish I could have had an arial view. A grieving family at the center of a mass of people. This was a shining moment.
It's moments like this when I get a glimpse of what church could be all the time, a body that moves as one to comfort, serve, love and respond to the challenges we human beings face. The aftermath of the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast is another example of a shining moment. You'll never hear about it on the news, but there is a continuous flow of Christians that has been in the gulf region non-stop since the devastation. Without regard for denomination, worship practice or even any Christian faith at all, the Body is surrounding the hurting and lost. Homes are being restored and lives are being rebuilt by total strangers who are doing it simply because they are driven by compassion that is informed by their faith. And the church is the gathering place for supplies, materials, money, people and prayer.
A friend of mine heads an organization that responds immediately to the needs of others. Growing out of an intense study of the Bible, he has revived a fundraising organization into a service organism. His agency makes it possible for people to pour out all kinds of resources for the aid and comfort of individuals, families and whole communities. Just last night storms swept across the Midwest. Within the next twenty-four hours I expect to see my friend, Tim, making help and opportunities to help available to anyone who wants to join. This will be in addition to ongoing help for hurricane victims, an update on a woman with cancer who got housing and support for her very expensive treatments in Chicago, the latest on a family that just got a car donated to help them and on and on it goes.
I sometimes wonder why it takes hurricanes and dead little girls for the church to circle-up and be what it was meant to be. Maybe this isn't a church thing, maybe it's just being human. Does anyone remember how unified our whole country was for a few weeks after the attackes of 9/11? I remember being at a public high school football game where prayer was offered and everyone sang "God Bless America" the Friday after the attack. But if it's just human nature to rally when times are tough, what makes the church different? Maybe the church exists to be that caring and united all the time. What would it look like if the church shined for more than just moments?
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