More Than Words

I'm not going to preach you a really good sermon today.

A really good sermon requires time for reflection. You need to read and meditate on the scriptures for that Sunday or holy day. You need to research anything you are going to assert, whether from the Bible or from the news or science. And then you want to be precise in not only what you say but how you say it. Just the writing of a really good sermon takes hours. It takes me an average of one hour of writing time for every minute of preaching time, so about 15 hours. That doesn't include the reflection and research or the rewrites which sometime go up to the last minute. Believe me, you do not want me to just wing it. So I take a lot of time crafting what I share with you each week. It is my unique contribution to our worship. Anyone can read out of a book.

But this is not one of those well-crafted sermons. I literally have had no time to think about anything but hurricane recovery this week. Oh, and car repair. I have been on my phone texting council members, vestry members, veterans, firefighters, the bishop, my colleagues, my wife and kids. Every morning since Irma passed, I have been participating in a conference call with the bishop and other Episcopal clergy, finding out how everyone is, how everyone's house fared, how everyone's church did and what help is being offered. Wednesday I had to leave that call early in order to catch the monthly conference call for interim Lutheran clergy. I have been talking with 2 insurance companies, one for my house and one for St. Francis. I have sat down twice with representatives of Citizens about the windstorm damage, once for Lord of the seas and once for my house. Only to find out that my home insurance was handed off to another company without my knowledge, nor apparently that of my mortgage holder! While I was talking with the Citizens rep, I got a call from some firefighters from Margate Coconut Creek with supplies that they wanted to drop off at the church—in 20 minutes! At that time we had nothing so I said “Yes.” Then, while stilll with the Citizens rep, I got a call from Citizens about the church. I thought I had time traveled somehow. It turns out Stacey, who was before me on her computer, had finished with the church and was now working on the claim for the parsonage. As soon as she sent the church claim by internet, the phone rep received it and called me. In addition I was fielding calls from Church Insurance about St. Francis, the people who are supposed to oversee its drying out, the subcontractor actually doing the drying out, and the representative of that company coming out to see the property.

At night I have been too exhausted to look at the lectionary. I have gone to whatever place we were sleeping that night. At first our house had no electricity and we need that for medical reasons. Now it has power but no AC. So thank you to Charlotte Roberts and Peggy Jent for putting us up and putting up with us. And thank you to the linemen who got power to Lord of the Seas because we slept in my air-conditioned office here one night on an inflatable bed.

And I don't expect sympathy. I know you have had it just as bad if not worse. Some stayed during the storm and then endured days of having no power or water or gas or 911 or anyone to help you dig your way out of the tangled trees and debris. Many lost their homes. Some, 14 at last count, lost their lives. I have been relatively fortunate and I humbly acknowledge that.

So I haven't really looked at the scriptures for today and I have nothing to say about them. But quite frankly, they have nothing to say about these last 2 weeks, at least not directly.

But Jesus did more than preach the gospel with his lips. He lived it. His actions spoke as loudly as his words about God's love and mercy and power. And I have seen that as well in the actions of people this week.

There are the Veterans of South Florida, headquartered under our church building at present, who called me and took addresses of elderly and disabled Keys residents needing help clearing their properties. There are the other vets, that is, veterinarians who came in with them to attend to injured pets and wildlife. There are the firefighters who came all the way from Margate with literally a ton of water, as well as diapers for all ages, cleaning supplies, pet food, people food and more, to which we added all the supplies that the vets brought. There is One World One Canvas who brought school supplies. There is the Rotary, represented by Sandy Higgs, who coordinated with the vets. There are the police from Palm Beach, Homestead and other jurisdictions who patrolled our streets after the disaster. There are Monroe County Sheriff's Deputies and other first responders who stayed during the storm. There are the folks who stayed in the Emergency Operations Center during the storm and afterward to coordinate the official efforts to keep people safe, get the streets cleared, get the disaster workers in and more. There are the members of the Disaster Mortuary Teams, going door to door and using dogs to recover the bodies of those who stayed and didn't make it. There are the military troops who came in to bring relief and order to the Keys just days after Irma. There is FEMA—don't scoff—trying to process all the requests for aid as fast as humanly possible. There are the medical personnel who got the Key West ER up and running, and opened up Mariners, and who set up a field hospital in Marathon when Fishermen's couldn't open in time. There are the elected officials doing everything they could to make the Keys as safe and habitable as possible before opening the Keys up to returning evacuees and who took a lot of flack for not doing that incredibly difficult task fast enough to suit those who have no idea what is involved. There are the church groups—the Baptist Men's group from North Carolina, the Salvation Army, the LDS, the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida and our sister churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Florida and the Bahamas—who sent people, supplies and money to help.

I am sure that I have probably missed some groups and people for which I am truly sorry.

As disciples, Jesus said we must take up our cross and follow him. Jesus didn't carry his cross for himself but for us. Our cross is not our personal problems but the burdens of others we take up for them. We could say, “I don't know you. I don't owe you anything.” Yet instead we say, “Let me help you with that. Take my hand. Let me help you up. Let me make things better.” Paul said, “Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

I have been through more hurricanes than I care to remember but I have never seen such a response as this. I am amazed at how fast and how well people came together and the outpouring of love in action I have seen. And I want to end with something an emergency worker said to me this week: “With all the problems in the world, why can't we always be like this?”