RBWords - Volume 18 - Number 9: September 2005
Something to Think About
The August edition of RBWORDS began with a reflection on the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This edition follows closely the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. We can only pray that the month of October will not present us with yet another storm. There is enough sorrow left from these two to last many people a lifetime because of the scars of evacuation and the loss of life and property. The Catholic dioceses of Biloxi, New Orleans, Lake Charles and Beaumont were hard hit. Insurance , in some cases, will be inadequate to replace churches and schools and most certainly cannot replace the torn social fabric created by parish church communities. A new reality has to grow in their place. The attention focused on New Orleans tends to overshadow what the other regions (Gulf Coast and Southwest Louisiana) are suffering and the ripple effect on the rest of the dioceses in Louisiana (there are seven!). Many people who worked for those dioceses are without work now.
I have found my attention called to this not just by the media but by the Old Testament scriptures for the past couple of weeks, which have been from the historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the post-exilic prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. These deal with the return of the Jews from Babylon to the devastated land of Israel after years of exile. Those who receive my daily preaching online, THE WORD TO THE WISE, have reflected on these scriptures along with me. What will the Hurricane Exiles return to? Is there anything left to return to? Will they want to return? The man who designs many of the Mardi Gras floats for the New Orleans festival says that the floats will be ready, but will the city or the people be ready? Grieving and healing are concerned with the same reality: “Things will never be the same!” Whatever is rebuilt, be it brick and mortar or spirit and consciousness will be rebuilt from memories, and the storms will continue to come and threaten what has been painfully restored. Perhaps the 127th psalm offers a clue to the future: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” IT’S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
It Has Been Said
“You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer disgrace” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me for good, and also of the words which the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
Nehemiah 2:17-18