Proverbs 1: 20-33

This past Monday was the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. No doubt every one of us will forever remember where we were that day. I happened to be in Athens, Georgia, with Sam Collier. Sam went to law school at the University of Georgia and I had always enjoyed his stories about living in Athens. We had set aside a couple of days to go to Athens so Sam could show me around and enjoy some good food and music. We had enjoyed a delightful evening and were looking forward to another pleasant day. But on our way to the pool in the hotel where we were staying to enjoy a morning swim, we ended up in the hotel lobby where a crowd had gathered in front of the T.V. Like countless gatherings around the county, we were stunned by the unfolding events. Before long, we headed for home, wanting to be with our loved ones.

Angela Davenport and Alicia Carroll were in New York on September 11 and experienced the chaos and horror first-hand. Perhaps you will recall what they shared when they joined Oakhurst, for that experience eventually played a role eventually bringing them to Oakhurst. As I was talking to Angela about her reflections on what has happened to her and the world since then, I asked her if she would share that on World Communion Sunday in a couple of weeks.

Another event we recently remembered was the destruction on the gulf coast and particularly New Orleans a little over a year ago. This was for the most part caused by a natural disaster, though complicated by human actions, such as the failing of the levees that caused as much harm as the hurricane. Today’s service comes out of a growing sense of call among some Oakhurst members to be involved in Churches Supporting Churches. This project is a comprehensive strategy of a number of African American congregations in twelve areas of New Orleans, where Katrina destroyed or seriously damaged their facilities, to “Restart, Reopen, Repair or Rebuild the Churches in order for them to be agents for Community Development and to recreate their Community.”

When several of us got together to plan the service, we looked at the lectionary texts assigned for today and none of them seemed to readily connect. Not that it always has to. Our covenant says, “I will study the Bible, meditate, and pray so that I will more fully experience the presence of God;” but it also says, “I will also be sensitive to God's message as it comes to me from persons, history, the arts, nature, current happenings in the world, and other sources.”

Today’s service is about current happenings in the world in that it is about how the church might be involved in the re-birth of New Orleans. But after I had decided the assigned biblical texts were not all that relevant and was thinking about texts that might fit, I kept coming back, reluctantly even, to the text for the day from the Hebrew scriptures. When I first read it, it seemed to be the opposite of what was needed. Listen, and see if you see what I mean.

It is from Proverbs, 1:20-33. Proverbs is a collection of wisdom, gathered from wide areas of life. The wisdom in the book is often given in the form of a personified woman, first identified here in verse 20.

Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.
At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would have none of my counsel,
and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.
For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

(New Revised Standard Version; emphasis mine)

I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news of Katrina. As the storm approached New Orleans, I was in Ramallah, in the West Bank of Palestine. It was one of the most intense days of our interfaith pilgrimage, when our group of Jews, Muslims, and Christians passed through the checkpoints at the barrier wall that separates Jews and Palestinians. The most pleasant part of the day was when a Palestinian family graciously hosted us. A number of their family members lived in the United States. In fact, the main family business was a chain of grocery stores in none other than New Orleans. Like many others with close ties to New Orleans, they had no idea how their lives were about to change.

I was on my own in Bethlehem visiting Christian Palestinians when the levee broke and the chaos began. As images of people stranded and even dying emerged, I had numerous conversations with my Palestinian Christian hosts about what we were seeing. Seeing it through their eyes was awakening. They were stunned by the poverty and racial divide the storm exposed. They were well aware of the enormous problems they faced; they wondered if Americans were aware of our own problems.

The Katrina catastrophe exposed again the evils of poverty and racial injustice we try to ignore and hide in this country. The Civil Rights movement exposed these evils and we came a long way toward addressing them but then began to forget what we learned. We lost the Wisdom we needed to continue working for the just society that God wants and Jesus proclaimed.

Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.

The African American writer, Charles Johnson, says that Wisdom in Proverbs is “Thought winging its way home.” For some time now God’s spirit has been at work at Oakhurst being sensitive to our covenant and God’s message as it comes to us from persons (in this case the former and current residents of New Orleans), history (both that of one of our great cites and our own history of racism and injustice), the arts (New Orleans’ incredibly rich music and artistic traditions), nature (both the impact of natural events and the ways humans interact with those forces), and current happenings in the world. (our particular response to the impact of Katrina and the aftermath on the churches of New Orleans.)

Churches Supporting Churches is a project begun by a group including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, American Friends Service Committee, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Church of the Brethren, Every Church a Peace Church, Mennonite Church USA, National Council of Churches and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The first goal is to strengthen the health and unity of the pastors, spouses and members as they try to return to New Orleans and process the trauma and destruction of their churches and homes in order to be able to help their members deal with reality as they return. They need resources to reconnect the pastors with their members scattered across the US.

Second, the strategy is to rebuild the bricks and mortar and spiritual life of these congregations and to make the pastors and their members socially active agents for meeting present and returning peoples’ human needs in each community. This aspect of the project is designed to partner 36 congregations in New Orleans with 360 local congregations nationally on a ten to one ratio over the next three years to accomplish this goal. It is a vision beyond the important food and shelter issues.

Third, the strategy extends and expands the capacity of the historical role of the African American Church as the key agent for community. Most of the churches are committed to social activism and community organization. Funds are needed for continuing local and regional advocacy actions and leadership development, community organization and outreach, and community planning and development. It’s designed as a comprehensive strategy in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King’s strategy for nonviolent democratic social change. (From “Every Church a Peace Church” website)

Out of the devastation of a hurricane and the injustice it exposed we have an opportunity to participate in what King called Building the Beloved Community. In a moment you will hear from two Oakhurst members, (Sam Collier and Lucas Johnson) who along with the others participating in this service will sound a call for a new Oakhurst mission group to be a part of Churches Supporting Churches.

We cannot prevent natural disasters but we can create a sense of community and equality in order to respond together. Perhaps that is what Wisdom had in mind when she concluded, “but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”