PSALM 118:24 | THIS IS THE DAY…

THIS IS THE DAY…

PSALM 118:24

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

WITH HIS TOOTHSOME SMILE, BOOMING VOICE, AND A THEOLOGY THAT WAS EQUAL PARTS, PROPHETIC, CHRIST-LIKE, AND STRAIGHT OUT NORMAN VINCENT’S PEALE’S – THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING – THE LATE TELEVISION PREACHER ROBERT SCHULLER WOULD BEGIN EACH WORSHIP SERVICE:

“THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!”

HE’S QUOTING THE 118^TH PSALM, AND BOTH HE AND THE PSALMIST ARE CORRECT: WE SHOULD REJOICE IN EACH DAY GOD CREATES, EACH DAY GOD GIVES US; BUT, THEN, THERE ARE THOSE DAYS…

DAYS WHEN REJOICING IS THE FARTHEST THING FROM OUR MINDS.

SCHULLER ACTUALLY KNEW THIS AS WELL, AND MOST OF HIS SERMONS, AND MUCH OF HIS WRITINGS, WERE GEARED TOWARD PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT HAVING PARTICULARLY REJOICE-FUL DAYS, BUT FACING HARD TIMES.

THE TRUTH IS, THIS DAY, EACH DAY, EVERY DAY, ARE THE DAYS THE LORD HAS MADE, AND WE CAN REJOICE; OR WEEP AND BE SAD IN IT, FOR THAT MATTER.

THE POINT IS TO SEE THE DAY FOR WHAT IT IS BECAUSE IT WILL BE GONE BEFORE WE KNOW IT.

IF WE WASTE IT, IT IS OUR LIFE WE ARE WASTING.  IF WE LOOK THE OTHER WAY, WE MAY MISS THE MOMENT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

I WISH THERE WERE SOME WAY, THIS MORNING, FOR US TO COLLECTIVELY SHARE ALL THE MOMENTS, ALL THE DAYS, ALL THE NIGHTS, ALL THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS, ALL THE FURY AND CRAZINESS OF THE LAST TWO WEEKS WITH EACH OTHER.

A SORT OF COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS; A MONTAGE OF ALL WE’VE BEEN THROUGH; AND WE’RE GOING TO DO THAT IN PART, IN A TIME OF SHARING IN A FEW MOMENTS.

BUT EACH OF OUR EXPERIENCES OF HURRICANE IRMA ARE DIFFERENT.

FOR THOSE WHO STAYED, TO THOSE WHO LEFT, TO THOSE WHO WENT IN ONE DIRECTION, ONLY TO ENCOUNTER HER THERE, AND LEFT AGAIN, HOPING FOR SOME ESCAPE ELSEWHERE.

OUR EXPERIENCE DOESN’T NECESSARILY SPEAK TO YOURS, NOR DOES IT CAPTURE THE SPECIFICITY AND UNIQUENESS OF YOUR DAYS THAT GOD HAS MADE – AND WHETHER YOU WERE REJOICING, OR BEING SAD.

IN A MEETING WITH OUR PRESBYTERY EXECUTIVE AND SIX REPRESENTATIVES OF PRESBYTERIAN DISASTER ASSISTANCE, WHEN ASKED: HOW IS YOUR CONGREGATION DOING?

I ANSWERED THAT HAVING TALKED OR BEEN IN CONTACT WITH MOST OF YOU, YOU WERE DOING FINE;

MOST HAD SUFFERED ONLY MINIMAL DAMAGE; THOSE WHO STAYED WERE SAFE; THOSE WHO LEFT WERE COMING BACK; THE CHURCH PROPERTY AND YOUR PROPERTIES, HAD FARED PRETTY WELL, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

THEN I STOPPED, AND FOUND MYSELF DESCRIBING WHAT A TOUGH MONTH SEPTEMBER HAD BEEN FOR US.

THEY WERE KIND, AND PASTORAL, AND THEY LISTENED.

I TOLD THEM HOW AT THE START OF THE MONTH, A MEMBER OF OUR CHURCH, WHO MANY OF US HAD HELPED TO GET HIS LIFE TOGETHER IN SOME WAYS, UNFORTUNATELY COULD NOT ESCAPE THE DEMONS OF HIS ADDICTIONS, AND WOUND UP ON THE STREETS OF KEY WEST AGAIN.

ONLY TO BE KILLED IN AN ALTERCATION WITH ANOTHER MAN.

AND THEN, HOW, ONE OF OUR LONGEST STANDING, IF NOT THE LONGEST STANDING, AND A BELOVED MEMBER OF THE CHURCH, SARAH HERRICK, HAD DIED IN A MIAMI HOSPICE, JUST AS IRMA WAS ARRIVING, AND HOW WE HADN’T BEEN ABLE TO HOLD HER SERVICE, LET ALONE PROPERLY GRIEVE HER LOSS.

AND, OF COURSE, THERE WAS THE HURRICANE, AND HOW IT HAD CHANGED EVERYTHING, AT LEAST FOR A TIME;

AND HOW MUCH OF WHATEVER BEAUTY, CHARM, AND CHARACTER THE KEYS HELD – HOW IT’S GONE NOW, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY.

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US WEEP AND BE SAD IN IT.

BUT TO PARAPHRASE ANOTHER PSALM: THE NIGHT GIVES WAY TO MORNING, DARKNESS TURNS TO LIGHT, SADNESS IS REPLACED WITH JOY.  THE KEYS WILL BE BACK!

THERE WAS JOY IN THE MIDST OF SADNESS – LIKE THE JOY OF GETTING THE LAST ROOM IN A PET FRIENDLY HOTEL, IF NOT THE LAST ROOM ALTOGETHER IN PERRY, GA TO WAIT OUT THE STORM AS KAREN AND I DID.

I’LL SPARE YOU THE DETAILS EXCEPT TO SAY, THE HOTEL WAS OWNED BY AN INDIAN FAMILY, AS SO MANY SMALL HOTELS SEEMINGLY ARE:

I BELIEVE, BECAUSE THE OFFER OF HOUSING AND HOSPITALITY RUNS DEEP WITHIN THEIR FAITH AND CULTURE.

LIKE MANY SMALL, FAMILY RUN BUSINESSES, EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY WAS HARD AT WORK DOING WHATEVER NEEDED DOING, ALL THE TIME.

THE YOUNG WOMAN, A DAUGHTER, I IMAGINE, WHO CHECKED US IN, WAS LATER WORKING IN THE LAUNDRY; AS WAS THE PATRIARCH OF THE CLAN ONE DAY, FOLDING TOWELS AND WASH CLOTHS.

ANOTHER WOMAN WHO STOCKED THE BREAKFAST BAR, WAS ALSO WORKING THE FRONT DESK, AND LATER, MOPPING THE LOBBY.

A SON, I SUPPOSE, WAS NOT ONLY IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING HOUSEKEEPING, BUT MAINTENANCE, AND HE FIXED THE LOCK ON OUR DOOR WHEN IT BROKE.

WHAT IT ALL REMINDED ME OF, WAS THE CHURCH; A CHURCH FAMILY; WITH EACH OF US PITCHING IN WHEREVER NECESSARY; WHEREVER WE SEE A NEED; IN WHATEVER WAY WE CAN HELP.

AND AS I HAVE SAID TO PRESBYTERIAN EXECUTIVES, AND MEMBERS, AND FRIENDS, AND EVEN JUST IN PASSING, BECAUSE MANY OF US HAVE BEEN SPARED ANY REAL LOSS OR DAMAGE, IT POSITIONS US WELL TO HELP THOSE WHO HAVE NOT.

OUR CHURCH, WE, AS INDIVIDUALS, CAN STAND READY TO HELP WHEREVER, HOWEVER, WITH WHATEVER, OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, AND PERFECT STRANGERS, NOW NEED.

IN STRESSFUL, EMERGENCY SITUATIONS SUCH AS THIS, IT’S STRANGE WHAT YOU TAKE NOTICE OF.

WHO WOULD BELIEVE THAT THE SIGHT OF ELECTRIC TRUCKS POURING INTO FLORIDA FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WOULD BE A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION?

I REMEMBER BEING PASSED, AT TIMES, BY TRUCKS FROM EMPIRE ELECTRIC, OUT OF UPSTATE NEW YORK; AND THEN BY CON EDISON TRUCKS, FROM THE NEW YORK CITY AREA;

AND I REMEMBERED HOW JOHNNY CARSON WAS ALWAYS MAKING FUN OF CON EDISON IN HIS OPENING MONOLOGUES;

WELL, IT WAS NO JOKE, NOW, AND THE CALVARY WAS COMING TO OUR RESCUE, FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

JUST OUTSIDE OF FT. LAUDERDALE, ON OUR DRIVE OUT, I REMEMBER SEEING TRUCKS, BOATS, AND TRAILERS FROM THE FLORIDA WILDLIFE COMMISSION DRIVING SOUTH – AND I JUST KNEW, THEY WERE RETURNING FROM HOUSTON, FROM HURRICANE HARVEY, WHERE THEY HAD BEEN DEPLOYED TO HELP PEOPLE THERE;

NOW COMING HOME TO HELP THEIR OWN.

NATIONAL GUARD TRUCKS COMING IN; AND AFTER THE STORM, TRUCKS FROM WINN DIXIE, PUBLIX, HOME DEPOT, AND OTHERS, BRINGING ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES.

TRUCKS FULL OF TELEPHONE POLES, BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THEY WOULD NEED TELEPHONE POLES TO RESTORE POWER, TELEPHONE, AND CABLE SERVICES.

THE DRIVE INTO THE KEYS WAS SOBERING; PLACES YOU KNEW AND LOVED WERE NO MORE;

PLACES YOU’D NEVER SEEN BEFORE APPEARED TO HAVE POPPED UP OUT OF NOWHERE, UNTIL YOU REALIZED THAT IT WAS THE TREE AND BRUSH COVER THAT WAS GONE, ALLOWING YOU TO SEE THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME.

ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS GONE; TRAILER PARKS AND MOBILE HOME PARKS COMPLETELY DESTROYED; INDIVIDUAL HOUSES REPRESENTING INDIVIDUAL’S AND FAMILY’S LIVES DEMOLISHED.

AND IN THE AFTERMATH, MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS ABOUT HOW THESE, MANY OF THEM WHO DO MUCH OF THE LIVING, AND WORKING, AND SERVING, WILL FIND THE MEANS TO REBUILD.

PERHAPS A SILVER LINING TO IRMA CAN BE THAT OUR COMMUNITY, AND ITS ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND ALL OF US, FOR THAT MATTER, WILL FINALLY GET SERIOUS ABOUT WHAT REAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING MEANS;

AND HOW WE CAN GET CREATIVE IN PROVIDING IT FOR OUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS.

FOR MANY OF US, THIS STORM HAS BEEN ABOUT FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND OTHERS WHO WILLINGLY WELCOMED US INTO THEIR HOMES AS PLACES OF REFUGE AND SOLACE.

SOME OF YOU BUNKERED IN PLACE WITH EACH OTHER, ENDURING THE STORM AND ITS AFTERMATH WITH A SORT OF COMBINED COURAGE AND RESOLVE;

OTHERS OF US ESCAPED INTO THE WAITING ARMS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS, WHO LOVED US BACK INTO SANITY, WITH CALM AND ENCOURAGING SPIRITS, HELPING US TO MAKE THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION.

WHETHER WE CAN EVER REPAY THE FAVOR ADEQUATELY REMAINS TO BE SEEN;

BUT, WE CAN, AT THE VERY LEAST, PAY IT FORWARD NOW BY HELPING OTHERS.

SPEAKING OF OTHERS, LET US RESOLVE TO BE AS KIND AND GENTLE AS WE CAN WITH EACH OTHER.  FOR A WHILE, IT IS A NEW NORMAL, FOR EVERYONE.

WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH;

AND HOW, BECAUSE OF THEIR VARIOUS RELATIONS WITH OTHERS: FAMILY, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, JUST PEOPLE WITH WHOM THEY, AND WE, INTERACT DAILY:

OUR POSTAL PERSON, A WAITER OR WAITRESS, PEOPLE ANSWERING THE PHONES AT PLACES WE ARE CALLING TO COMPLAIN, INQUIRE, OR DEMAND SOMETHING OF;

POLITICIANS AND PUBLIC SERVANTS, PLUMBERS AND ELECTRICIANS, ROOFERS AND LABORERS, HOTEL WORKERS AND THOSE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRIES – THEY’VE ALL GOT IT ROUGH RIGHT NOW.

LET OURS BE THE SMILING FACE THAT APPRECIATES THEM;

LET OUR KIND WORDS UNDO THE CHEWING OUT THEY JUST GOT FROM SOME JERK WITH AN ATTITUDE;

LET OUR LISTENING EAR BE THE ONE THAT GIVES THEM SPACE TO TALK, TO UNLOAD, TO BREAK DOWN.

I WAS TALKING WITH OUR AIR CONDITIONING GUY, CHRIS, WITH KEYS COOLING.  HE WAS TELLING ME HOW HE STAYED, THOUGH HE SENT HIS FAMILY OUT FOR SAFETY SAKE.

IT SEEMS RIGHT AFTER THE STORM ONE OF THE LOCAL FUNERAL HOMES CALLED TO SAY THEIR REFRIGERATION UNIT WASN’T WORKING, DUE TO THE POWER FAILURE.

CHRIS IS NOT REALLY A REFRIGERATION GUY, BUT BECAUSE HE SERVICED THEIR AIR CONDITIONING, HE AGREED TO LOOK AT IT.

TURNS OUT, THE REFRIGERATION UNIT WAS NEVER CONNECTED TO THE GENERATOR, AND CHRIS WAS ABLE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.

BUT WHILE THERE, HE SAW THE BODY OF AN ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL, WHO DIED, OF AN ASTHMA ATTACK, THERE WAS SIMPLY NOWHERE TO TAKE HER DURING THE STORM.

HER FAMILY SHOULD NOT HAVE STAYED.

WITH ALL THE HASSLES OF EVACUATING, OF LEAVING, THE DRIVING FOR HOURS ON END IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC, THE LACK OF PLACES TO STAY;

OF TRYING TO GET BACK IN AFTER THE FACT;

MANY ARE SAYING, THAT WHEN THE NEXT ONE COMES, MANY PEOPLE WILL BE RELUCTANT TO LEAVE.

HAVING HEARD THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THOSE WHO STAYED, AND THE LACK OF LOSS OF LIFE IN THE KEYS, (THIS TIME), MANY WILL BE EMBOLDENED, AND BELIEVE THEY CAN RIDE OUT THE NEXT STORM.

BUT REMEMBER, AS FORTUNATE AS WE WERE THIS TIME, EVEN IN AS SERIOUS A STORM AS IRMA WAS, WE MAY NOT BE SO FORTUNATE NEXT TIME.

AND AS THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND HERE LONG ENOUGH, KNOW, EVEN IF IT WAS 12 YEARS AGO SINCE THERE WAS A MAJOR STORM HERE IN THE KEYS, THERE WILL BE A NEXT TIME.

STAY OR GO, USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT – BUT PLEASE – USE YOUR VERY BEST JUDGEMENT.

IN THE MEANTIME, BE MORE CHRISTIAN TO EACH OTHER, AND OTHERS, THAN YOU’VE EVER BEEN IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE:

AND YOU WILL NOT ONLY MAKE SOMEONE ELSE’S DAY, BUT YOUR OWN:

“A DAY TO REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN!”