Bits and Bytes

This being the 4th of July weekend I have been thinking about what that really means. I looked in the newspaper and online and discovered that we may be so busy with activities: fireworks displays, block parties, firecracker sales at your favorite store, baseball games, etc., etc. that we may not have time to really think about what freedom really means and what it has cost.
I began to think about the price that has been paid for my freedom and for yours. As politicians argue and fuss about many things, I have come to understand that freedom has seldom been won in the halls of Congress or some other legislative arena. Freedom has been won in the trenches by people who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for you and I. It is not possible to legislate courage, stamina, character and honor. In my office, above my bookcase, is a picture of the spread wings of an eagle painted to look like the American flag. In front of those spread wings is a soldier in combat gear. In the upper right corner is the verse, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) I look at that picture every time I enter my office and it is positioned so it would be difficult for anyone to miss it. So many have given their lives for mine that it is difficult and painful to consider.
Next to that picture, however, is a picture of Christ on the cross, and again my eyes fill with tears when I consider the sacrifice God made for me. I have been very angry at my kids, as most parents have, but never have I been angry enough to willingly watch them suffer. And certainly I would not be willing to give their life for another. If we are honest, I don't know of any parent that would willingly do that. Yet, that is what God did for us and it's what countless persons in uniform have done.
I looked the word "freedom" up in Webster's and there is nothing there that describes it adequately. Perhaps that's because the dictionary lists "Freedom" as a noun. I like to think of it as a verb. It is not a descriptor, but it is an action word. Freedom comes because someone took the necessary action.

We humans are a strange breed. We are by nature stubborn and tend to rely first on our own strength and resources. When I served in the western part of Nebraska, I called that a rancher ethic. Ranchers are strong, determined, hard working and independent for the most part. Before anyone comments on that statement, please know that I mean it in the best possible way. Ranchers are used to seeing new life enter the world during calving season. Calving is a critical step forward for a productive year. But the rancher is also no stranger to death. Not every cow survives giving birth to her calf. Sometimes the rancher is required to "put the animal down." The rancher knows that time is critical, especially when the cows decide to give birth during a snow storm.
Like the rancher, you and I are often no stranger to suffering. Yet, for some reason we often put off that treatment which could eliminate at least a portion of the suffering. Why do we do that? Why do I do that? Is it because I don't want to bother God until I really need to? Is it because I am afraid it is too big for God to handle? Perhaps I am afraid God won't help me. For whatever reason, I and many of you, try to go it alone. That seldom works.

Today I was serving as a volunteer chaplain for Lincoln Police Department and Lincoln Fire and Rescue. I really enjoy that volunteer work and generally take about four days per month. What made today different was what happened right after lunch. I needed to go home to drop something off and on my way I thought I would stop at Fire Station 12 on South 84th Street just to say hello. About the time I turned off 84th I heard an alert on the police radio that chaplains are equipped with. To hear **ATTENTION ALL UNITS** is not that unusual, but this time it hit home. Dispatch stated that fire alarms were going off in the apartment building we live in. My heart began to race, the adrenalin began to flow. I swerved back onto the road and headed quickly for home. I knew my wife was at work so I didn't worry about that. But I thought, almost out loud, "If there is a fire, what do I want to save?"

The title of this blog is taken from an old spiritual by Marion W. Easterling. It's a song of trouble and of redemption. The writer must have read James 1:2-4, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." We have a hard time accepting the trials of life and an even harder time receiving them with "pure joy." What kind of person would consider it pure joy when their world is crumbling around them? What kind of individual would consider it pure joy, when they have just received bad news from a doctor, or are going through a divorce, or when a loved one dies? That's not what most of us consider to be "pure joy."
I don't believe James meant to indicate that we should rejoice over the trials of life as the world sees rejoicing. He is talking more about a spiritual rejoicing because we know that God is in control when we are not....especially when we are out of control. Do you remember how the Bible starts? God created order out of chaos. God called order into being, but remember before order there was a great void. Genesis 1:1 says, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep...." Isn't that pretty much what it feels like when our lives are spinning out of control, when our world is crumbling and chaotic? Our lives are formless, empty and dark. But Genesis 3 continues by saying, "God said, "Let there be light," and there was light." "Sometimes I'm Down," and it is dark, empty and formless. But "Sometimes I'm Up," and there is light and hope and peace.
We don't wake up in the morning and say, "Oh thank you God for all this trouble in my life."

It seems as if the earthquake in Haiti was only yesterday. The images of the massive destruction are still fresh in our minds. The relief effort continues and certainly will for many months and perhaps years. The death toll in that poverty ridden nation continues to boggle our minds. It is beyond our ability to comprehend. We have United States military forces on the ground in Haiti and they are likely to be a presence there for a considerable amount of time. And now, early this past Saturday morning the nation of Chile has experienced an 8.8 magnitude quake. It was one of the largest earthquakes in history. It was so strong that it actually rocked the earth on it's axis and caused us to forever lose a fraction of a second. Jesus says in Matthew 24:7 "There will be famines and earthquakes in various places." To paraphrase, and loosely at that, your world will be rocked.

What is it that has rocked your world? Times are not easy for a great many people today. Jobless numbers nationwide continue to be very high. People are struggling to pay their bills, feed their families and just get by. Their world is being rocked on it's axis. Pastor John recently shared some statistics on poverty and hunger in Lincoln. The numbers were staggering. In Lincoln, 12.7 percent of residents live in poverty, according to the Community Services Initiative, which was developed by a collaboration of human services agencies.
That means 33,926 people live at or below the federal poverty line, which in 2007 was $10,210 for a one-person home, $20,650 for a household of four. Fifty-three percent of those rely on food stamps. And remember, Lincoln is far better off than many areas of the country. Yet, knowing that we have it better than other cities of comparable size is of little consolation to those who are among these nearly 13 out of every 100. Their world has been rocked and there seems no end to the after shocks. For the most part, these are honest, hard working adults who have simply been caught in an economic situation that is beyond their control. I personally know a number of folks who are working as many as three jobs just to keep their heads above water and food on their table. Their world has been rocked and it doesn't seem like there will every be anything close to normal again.

Then, as I was writing this blog I received a call from a good friend in another community. One of my friends children, who now lives out of state, was granted a divorce not so long ago. I don't know all of the details and If I did I wouldn't share them, but I know that a divorce can rock your world. This young woman had been a member of a protestant church who, as a result of the divorce, is removing her from the roles. That after shock, by itself is devastating. I am not going to give you a theological dissertation here, but suffice it to say that I don't understand when the Body of Christ removes a soul from membership because of a perceived sin. I subscribe to the old saying that "the church is not a sanctuary for saints, but a hospital for sinners." Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, "....then neither do I condemn you." Jesus came to save us sinners from our sins. In other words, to save us from ourselves.

Jesus repeated these words from the Psalm 22 as he hung on the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me...." I think we can all understand why someone, or a group of people such as those in Haiti, might also echo those words during times of such horrible tragedy. In the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, where 80 per cent of the people do not have clean drinking water and where the vast majority live on less than $2 per day, I for one could understand such cries to God in light of this devasting earthquake. Would it not be natural to wonder where God is? Why has God allowed this? Why God have you forsaken me? Sure it's natural and normal. In this country we heard such cries following the tragic events of September 11. When people were jumping from their offices in the Twin Towers, when people were trapped under tons of rubble as a result of those terrorist attacks, could we not understand such cries of hopelessness and abandonment? Of course we could, especially in light of the fact that Jesus, from the cross at about the 9th hour cried out to God with those very same words.

While that is a normal and understandable human response to such a tragedy, let me make one thing very clear. Obviously God did not abandon Jesus, God's only Son. God did not abandon those trapped in the World Trade Center, or those who crashed into the Pentagon or in the Pennsylvania field. And God has not abandoned the people of Haiti. While God does not always prevent disasters, God is very much present in them. God was in the stairways and offices of the WTC. God was aboard the airplanes. And God is with the people of Haiti. Could God prevent these tragedies? Scripture tells us that nothing is impossible for God. Yet, just because God does not always stop something bad from happening doesn't mean He doesn't care. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a person who God did not create. God never said, "Let us create man in our image." That is all inclusive. All persons are creations of God, even this old sinner. And there has never been a person God did not love with all of his heart.

In an interview following the tragedy in Haiti, A US evangelical preacher has laid the blame for the devastating earthquake on the Haitians themselves, saying the country "swore a pact to the devil" to escape French rule in the 18th century. You can Google for yourself to see who said that, but nothing has ever been further from the truth. As Franklin Graham said, "God loves the people of Haiti."