NOLA Reflections

Well Mary and I never made it to Dayton due to the blizzard last Saturday. Hope everything went well on Sunday. I gave the homily at the Wednesday service of my Cambridge Church and adapted it for the talk at the CEC Sunday service. The text is below. Like hear what people talked about last Sunday.
Peace and Joy, George S.

I’m glad to be back in Dayton and it was great to spend time with old and new friends on the mission trip to New Orleans. It was quite a different experience from the last time I was there in the fall of 2006. The first time we were tearing out damaged materials in homes, this time we were rebuilding. After further reflection, I feel both times we were sent out to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom and to heal by being a servant and making people whole again.
In fact, this is what we are called to do in the Gospel of Luke chapter 9 verses 2 through 6. I like the modern paraphrased translation of this Gospel passage from the Message Bible, it reads:
Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns—get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you’re not welcomed, leave town. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on.”
Commissioned, they left. They traveled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the Message, and curing people everywhere they went.
What this says to me is to keep it simple when you go out into the world to heal and to preach the good news. However, this healing thing is definitely outside my comfort zone. Healing people conjures up TV evangelists curing people through their TV screens and then asking for lots of money.
Now since I’m living at a seminary I investigated this Gospel passage further by consulting a world class bible scholar, my Pentium dual-core processor. I was able to gain a better understanding of the Greek words that were translated as curing and healing. These Greek words are defined as being a cherishing servant and to make whole. This sure is more doable than performing a medical miracle.
We preached the good news by restoring faith to people that had been abandoned. We healed, by giving people hope again. And at night, ten of us slept on cots in a very used old house. This definitely met the modest inn requirement. We were also privileged to eat several meals prepared by the people we were healing. Have you ever had turkey necks and gravy? It’s exceptional, especially when you have been working all day.
We didn’t stand on street corners yelling bible verses, which I have witnessed on Bourbon Street, nor did we physically heal people. We simply helped rebuild people’s homes, listened to their stories, ate with them, and prayed for them. One thing I think we all learned is that we really don’t need to go to New Orleans to preach the Gospel, it can be done right here in Dayton, OH. In fact, it’s already being done here at Christ Church every day of the week. I just want to leave you with the message that, if you keep it simple, you will find a way to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom and be a healing servant. You might even be surprised by what you can accomplish, with God’s help.

After two weeks....

We've had two weeks home to do laundry, go through e-mail, and basically re-enter our normal worlds where New Orleans and Katrina are far away (Tom & Cindy excepted, of course.) I'm wondering, if asked what you remember about the trip, what is your answer? What story or image is the first that comes to mind? Here's a place to record those so others in our group can read them.

I'll begin. I found myself remembering the varieties of communities within which we shared meals. First, we ate together ourselves, many times, shoulder-to-shoulder around the table. Having been away from everyone for quite a while, each time we ate together was a reunion with my family. We ate with the Richmond folk as the guests of Miss Catherine. We were her guests gathered around her table even if the dining room overflowed onto the front porch and across the street. At the Dragon's Den, we joined with others who basically just needed meals, either as volunteers or as hungry residents. We divided ourselves and joined table communities in a different way. We were the guests of Anita and Amasa in their home and then they joined us. Almost like a square dance where the dancers move in and out amongst their 'square' in familiar, patterned steps, we moved in and out of meals sharing and receiving. In doing so, we were following the pattern of Jesus who moved in and out of meals with his disciples and the people he encountered on the roads and gathering places as he taught. It was in the breaking and sharing of bread together where two travellers found Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

I have more thoughts but, at this point, I look forward to hearing from any of you who are so inclined to share your thoughts in this new venue. At the moment, this blog is closed to others outside of our mission group but that can be changed. Feel free to comment on what I've written or use the Comment feature to add your own. If you'd like to write more extensively, please let me know and I can add you as an author. -Mary