The Gratitude that Moves Us to Action
The Rev. Mark Sherwindt, Pastor
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Pentecost 3: June 16-17, 2007
The very first thought I should share upon returning from our second dose of God's love in action through us in New Orleans is this: “My, what a difference one year has made!” It's not as though things are back to normal in New Orleans, not even close. But expectations have been adjusted and, in that sense, reality and normal are much, much closer. Materially speaking, that could be a bad thing because New Orleans is still in a big, big hole - economically, financially, commercially, in terms of loss of jobs, loss of homes, losses in just about every measure of business activity and economic vitality. There are lots of lots vacant where homes once stood. Just a tiny fraction of those neighborhoods that were hit hardest by Katrina and then Rita have seen home-owners return; and small businesses, forget about it. Materially speaking, neighborhoods are far from the way things were. But spiritually speaking, that's a different story. The shock is past. People are moving on, but now with a much closer sense of God's presence, and a far more immediate appreciation of God's support. Surviving a disaster has a way of making you more intimately aware of God's faithfulness and love. The hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness got it exactly right for God's people in New Orleans. “Great is they faithfulness, O God, my Father. There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not. Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.” New Orleanians know about God's faithfulness. Without doubt, morning by morning, new mercies they see. “All we have needed Thy hands hath provided; great is they faithfulness Lord, unto me.” [WOV, #771, verse 1]
Last Sunday I had a little fun with different Greek words for love. We're all familiar with that distinctly Christian word in common Greek for God's love, agape. That's the love that hopes all things, endures all things, suffers all things, forgives all things. That's God's love alive in Christ on the Cross at Calvary. Then, there's Philadelphia love, brotherly love, philos. The specific Greek word we focused on last week was splagkna, with a hard guttural “g” that splatters allover nearby listeners. It's a great word, referring to the irresistible feeling of compassion that wells up from the bowels of our being, moving us to care with an uncontrollable force of feeling. We experienced some of that last year when we first saw the degree of devastation that ripped through New Orleans with Katrina and Rita. This year we got reacquainted with a different kind of love that also left quite an impression on us and helped to make quite a difference in the ministry we shared and extended. I'll spell it for you in English. The way we learned to spell love this past week while working together in St. Bernard Parish was this way: T-R-U-S-T, where the T stands for Togetherness. God was Reaching out to the U in them through the U-S of us, so that we might experience God's grace Together. Yes, I know, that's not as catchy as T-E-A-M (Together Everyone Accomplishes More); but that is exactly what we experienced. We worked together, reaching out to folks in need. It was for the benefit of those whom we served, but it also brought a big blessing back to us. And I've got to admit, we learned to trust one another in the process. We had our problems along the way, as any group would; but working through these problems only taught us more about how important it was to trust one another, and the Lord.
Our Mission Trip this year was a vast improvement over last year's adventure in service among the bugs and the hot, humid heat of New Orleans in June. For starters, we had air-conditioning. And how about this: no bugs, not a single bug bite anywhere! And thirdly, we had fabulous food. No bugs, air conditioned quarters, and great food! Emeril has two restaurants in New Orleans - one on Tchoupitoulas Street (near the French Quarter), which costs on average $59.00 per person with 25's out of 25 across the board in Zagat's ratings on food, service, and ambiance. The other Emeril's in the historic garden district of New Orleans, and just lists the letters VE, for very expensive - as if $59.00 per person for dinner wasn't already in the range of very expensive! Well, I've got a news flash: Emeril, watch out! We had Mark Votaw, and he put together a series of the finest meals missioners ever enjoyed. All the regulars at Adullam Christian Fellowship found a way to show up and visit with “that group from northeast Ohio” right around dinner time every night, with friends and family! The food was great, and Mark is far more entertaining than Emeril … by a long shot, hands down, no competition.
While we were reaching out in New Orleans, I had a chance to take a look at the lessons for this week, and this mornings Gospel is a classic. A woman, from the city, who was a sinner received just a little bit of the gracious love and amazing mercy that Jesus came to give, and she could not stop thanking him. The host was a religious man whom Jesus blessed by saying Yes to the invitation to come to his home for a visit. Jesus was well-treated, with the respect that traditional courtesies called for. But the behavior of this woman cut quite a contrast with Simon's by-the-book, (but not much more) reception of Jesus. He did what was expected, but she, by contrast, put her heart and soul and hair and tears into it. “Simon, look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer even water to clean the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not offer even the standard kiss of greeting on the cheek, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first entered. You did not offer even ordinary olive oil to anoint my head and hair, but she has anointed my feet with a rare perfume.” [Luke 7: 36-50] What a difference! It wasn't that Simon didn't do what was expected. He went by the book. His actions would have seemed fine to everyone else guided by the traditions they devised to deal with such matters, except that when measured by the out-pouring of uncontained gratitude offered by that woman from the city, everything changed, and from Jesus' point of view she helped everyone to look at things differently. That's kind of what happened this week in New Orleans. We had a chance to look at things differently, and it involved our meeting a certain lady from the city, who overwhelmed us with her example of uncontained gratitude. Just like in the biblical story, a woman, about whom we know very little, is memorialized, for nothing more than the witness to gratitude she displayed in responding to Christ's love. It's amazing what a whole lot of gratitude can do - not only to the one expressing it, but to those witnessing it. Our group met one such lady right in Linda Bergerone, a wonderfully young eighty-five year-old, who had lived a hard life. She lived side-by-side with her husband in a duplex, with Mr. Bergerone on one side and Miss Linda on the other. They had children together, but Mr. Bergerone had a wandering eye, and an abusive hand. So Mr. Bergerone lived next door, and when he died, at the ripe old age of ninety-four, Mr. Bergerone left the tidy sum of all that he had to their daughter, who left the expense of burying her dad to her mother. It was a sad story, and basically, Miss Linda was left with nothing - except a duplex, and now a FEMA trailer, and the significant expense of figuring out how to rebuild. To a person, everyone in our group, and everyone at Adullam, found this sweet lady unforgettable. It wasn't her sad story, but her out-pouring of gratitude for the littlest effort of helpfulness that was offered. That's what left the impression of a remarkable and memorable witness to faith.
We took some time before getting back to collect some final impressions of our weeklong adventure in New Orleans. Seven among the eighteen of us made some mention of the impressions left with Linda - Laura Kay, her friend Sarah, Nicki Ross, Shirley's granddaughter Kaitlyn Elkins, Karen Kirk, Ronda Keating, and Steve Ross. Here's what Laura said, “The one experience I know I will never forget was meeting Linda.” Nicki wrote, “This trip helped me realize how much of an influence a single person can make. The people of New Orleans were so grateful for even the littlest things we did” - and Linda heads that list. Katie chimed in, “My New Orleans trip was awesome. The people down there were so open and grateful for every single thing we did for them. There was this lady Linda, and despite her many problems she's kept her head high and is wonderful.” Here's a good one written by Karen Kirk, “I met quite a few people in New Orleans that will always have a special place in my heart. Linda is one of those special people, eighty-five years young, she had been though a lot of things before Katrina, and lost a lot during the storm; but she was so positive and running around concerned to take care of others. It was so great to see. Imagine, never worrying about herself, but worried about us and worried about her neighbors.”
Our group delivered some groceries and household items to Linda's house, and she just overwhelmed us with her gratitude. All she could think of was the needs of those around her. Linda was a walking testimonial to the power of faith, love, and gratitude. Gratitude - it transformed the woman washing Jesus' feet. It transformed Miss Linda, and the gratitude that flowed from her sweet witness transformed our group. It's a wonderful thing to be grateful. That's what we saw, and we hope we brought enough back with us to change our lives … and yours … in Jesus' name. One final thought. While we're thinking about gratitude, we'd like to express our gratitude to Zion. Thinking back to last October, we'd like to thank you for all the German dinners you bought, whether Pork Schnitzel or Bratwurst, and for the gift baskets we auctioned, for the craft tables you rented and the crafts you purchased, for your many donations of every kind. For it was your donations that made our trip possible, and with every fill-up we pumped, with every dinner we enjoyed, with the boat ride on the Mississippi, beignets in the Café du Monde, and the experience of being blessed through the service we offered, we say Thank You. Amen