Pastor's Message
“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:34-40)
On January 12, a catastrophic earthquake struck 25 miles west of Port-au-Prince on the island of Haiti. This 7.0 magnitude earthquake leveled the city burying thousands of people under the rubble. The Haitian Interior Minister anticipates that the disaster will eventually claim over 100,000 people but we may never know the total number who lost their lives. It is difficult to get a grasp on that number until you consider that it is roughly the number of people that populate all of Adams County. Looking at the pictures of the devastation, especially those of the wounded and orphaned children, is overwhelming and almost too much to comprehend or bear. There is so much loss of life and property that it becomes almost mind numbing.
The fact that Haiti had overwhelming problems to deal with long before the earthquake struck makes this tragedy all the more compelling. Haiti has a long history of extreme poverty, AIDS, political corruption and oppression of its people. There is a high rate of illiteracy and less than 1/2 of the population had clean drinking water prior to the earthquake. 1 Over the years missionaries and others have had a presence in Haiti, trying to help the people, but there has been little change in their dire conditions. The earthquake was one more disaster in a long line of tragedies.
Fortunately people have heard their cries for help and have responded. There has been a massive outpouring of aid. Many churches, including Emmanuel, have been collecting for the relief efforts. Recovery will, most likely, take many years. Remember that four years after Hurricane Katrina there are parts of New Orleans that are still trying to rebuild. And as difficult as it is to imagine there are still 705 people listed as missing. 2 And this occurred in a first world country. The United Church of Christ and many others still have a presence of helping hands in New Orleans and other places of devastation in the world. Hopefully, we will continue to reach out to those in Haiti as well. Most of us have kind hearts and want to act as Christ’s hands in this wounded world. God has blessed us so abundantly. May we always remember those who are hungry and thirsty and continue to reach out in love and blessing to one another.
Love and blessings, Pastor Barb
1. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/haiti_statistics.html
2. Wikipedia.com