Haiti is on our minds a lot. Or, should be. Frankly, if you’re away from the news for very long, it’s hard to be reminded. And with the Olympics, Tiger Wood’s confessions, wars and rumors of wars (and that just between the two political parties), Haiti has been pushed out of the news, for the most part. It has been a little over a month. I guess it’s not “new” enough for the news now. Still, we know that things are not all better there. We know that with tens of thousands of deaths, things will not be “normal” for at least this generation. Who will give enduring attention and care in the long-term, when the media pays no attention and does not care? That is a role for the Church. While acknowledging that this massive evidence of the impermanence of property and life and way of life is overwhelming for us as individuals, we do not confront impermanence alone.
I am reading Henri Nouwen’s book, Compassion. He says, “The Christian Community mediates between the suffering of the world and our individual responses to this suffering. Since the Christian community is the living presence of the mediating Christ, it enables us to be fully aware of the painful condition of the human family without being paralyzed by this awareness…In the Christian community, we can know about hunger, oppression, torture and the nuclear threat without giving into a fatalistic resignation and without withdrawing into a preoccupation of personal survival. In the Christian community, we can fully recognize the condition of our society without panicking.” (p. 55f)
This statue covers the front of St. Ann’s pulpit. It is a Haitian sculpture, placed there to be a silent reminder to keep Haiti in our prayers and acts. Many faces, some tortured, look up to the face of Jesus. What else can they do? They look to Jesus. They wait for Jesus’ hands and feet to give aid, presence and assurance.
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