Jesus Wept
1/22/2010
I am writing these words of reflection on Monday, January 18, 2010. Today is the official holiday where the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated. Until the time of her death, Mrs. Coretta Scott King advocated for this day to be a day of service and prayer, not just a day when banks would be closed and people would not go to work.
The King children, who now carry on the legacy of their parents, have also promoted the King holiday and the words & witness of their father as timeless reminders of the need to help others, especially those in greatest need.
Many tears have been shed. Weeping and wailing continues as the catastrophic earthquake devastation in Haiti continues to result in news of more death and injury. Those of us in the United Methodist Church mourn the loss of Rev. Sam Dixon and Rev. Clinton Rabb, Mission executives working with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), who died as a result of injuries sustained in the earthquake. Thousands of people have died. Families are weeping, waiting for help and sustainable hope.
Haiti is a country where extreme poverty impacts the vast majority of the people with an average annual family income of $250.00. Life and death always hang in the balance in places where endemic poverty and daily survival are made worse by natural disasters like the hurricanes in 2008 and now the worst earthquake in 200 years.
The good news is that the world’s response has been immediate and immense. Record amounts of money have been raised and will continue to be raised. I encourage United Methodists and our friends and neighbors to support UMCOR through their local churches.
Prayer services and memorial services continue. The focus on Haiti, at this time, may result in our increased commitment to addressing the causes of extreme poverty in places where lack of access to education, food, employment and safe living conditions rob human dignity from men, women and children. Our resolve to pray unceasingly and indeed transform the world allows our tears to become part of the healing balm of renewal in Haiti.
Death is never the end the story. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Death is not a period that ends the sentence of life, but a coma that punctuates it too loftier existence.” While Haiti is not the only place in the world where natural disasters have descended at the intersection of poverty and human suffering bringing death, it is a present reminder that we are all connected by tragedy and triumph.
Jesus wept as he approached Jerusalem. John 11:33. Jesus saw Mary weeping and the Jews who came with her were also weeping, he was deeply moved. John 11:35 (International version) “Jesus burst into tears.”
- I weep for the families who have lost loved ones.
- I weep for the way we have too often sidestepped the difficult work of eradicating poverty.
- I, also, weep with joy for a God who calls forth from me a life of service in partnership with others as we press on in prayerful persistence for a new day of hope in Haiti.
Be Encouraged,
Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble
