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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
Community Is God's Travel Plan
July 19, 2007
The headline on the front page of the New York Daily News read "The
Earth Opened." The picture showed a tow truck falling into a crevice on a
Manhattan Street. The story continued on the next page under the headline
"Volcano on 41st Street" and included photographs of women and children
being helped in the aftermath of the steam pipe explosion that tore up a city
block and shut down Mass Transit for hours. As you read deeper into the
story you hear about a bus load of children who had just left the scene.
You read on and find out that Grand Central Station and the Chrysler
Building were evacuated and people were running for their lives. The
tremor could be felt for miles around and many wondered if this was
another terrorist attack.
Things like this happen every day. We pick up the newspaper and read
about a town in Kansas that was devastated by a tornado. We do a quick
read on the daily carnage in war torn Iraq. We flip through and read about
another gang style murder in Los Angeles. We turn the page and see
pictures of what is left of a coastal city in Malaysia after a hurricane has
unfurled its fury against it. Then we put the paper down and walk away.
If only living with our own personal tragedies was so easy. The truth is
that while the rest of the world goes on its merry way, many of us
struggle with the aftermath of our world being turned upside down. Some
are trying to dig out from under the rubble of a broken marriage. Others
are looking for a life line as they try to help a loved one break free from an
addiction to drugs or alcohol. You may have a friend who is reeling in a
recent diagnosis of terminal illness. Some are grief stricken over the
sudden death of a parent, a spouse or a child. When these tragedies hit,
there is no easy way out. You cannot simply close your eyes, click your
heels together three times and wish you were home again.
On Wednesday evening Lori and I were in New York City. We were just
leaving the auditorium where Luis Pabon's Dance troupe had performed in
the International Dance Organization's World Cup Competition when we
heard the news about the explosion near Grand Central. Our daughter
called to say that she heard all trains leaving the city were shut down for
the night. Panic set in as we tried to figure out how we were going to
handle the situation and get out of the city.
It is moments like that when you realize how good it is to have friends.
The dancers had come in on a bus and were loading up to go home. When
the news came in that the trains had been shut down, the group
immediately reached out and invited us to go home with them. Some of the
kids gave up their seats and squeezed in so we could fit. At 10:00 o'clock
the bus pulled into the commuter lot in Norwich and we were home again.
I thought about this the next day and it struck me that the community in
the church or the synagogue often plays the same role in our lives when
tragedy strikes. No one can change what happens when our world turns
upside down. The devastation of an unwanted diagnosis or an unplanned
pregnancy can send shock waves into our world. The loss of a job or
rejection by a loved one can sweep over us like a tsunami. But the
community is there and it gathers us up and carries us through. You see
this is how God works best. He calls us into community so that we can
encourage, support and love one another in the good times and the bad.
You never know when a steam pipe is going to burst. You can't predict
these things. But right now you can enjoy the blessing and joy of being
part of a caring community that is there day in and day out sharing the
love of God. And when the unthinkable happens to you, you won't have to
scramble to find help. You will be part of a faith community that will pick
you up and carry you home.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
July 19, 2007
The headline on the front page of the New York Daily News read "The
Earth Opened." The picture showed a tow truck falling into a crevice on a
Manhattan Street. The story continued on the next page under the headline
"Volcano on 41st Street" and included photographs of women and children
being helped in the aftermath of the steam pipe explosion that tore up a city
block and shut down Mass Transit for hours. As you read deeper into the
story you hear about a bus load of children who had just left the scene.
You read on and find out that Grand Central Station and the Chrysler
Building were evacuated and people were running for their lives. The
tremor could be felt for miles around and many wondered if this was
another terrorist attack.
Things like this happen every day. We pick up the newspaper and read
about a town in Kansas that was devastated by a tornado. We do a quick
read on the daily carnage in war torn Iraq. We flip through and read about
another gang style murder in Los Angeles. We turn the page and see
pictures of what is left of a coastal city in Malaysia after a hurricane has
unfurled its fury against it. Then we put the paper down and walk away.
If only living with our own personal tragedies was so easy. The truth is
that while the rest of the world goes on its merry way, many of us
struggle with the aftermath of our world being turned upside down. Some
are trying to dig out from under the rubble of a broken marriage. Others
are looking for a life line as they try to help a loved one break free from an
addiction to drugs or alcohol. You may have a friend who is reeling in a
recent diagnosis of terminal illness. Some are grief stricken over the
sudden death of a parent, a spouse or a child. When these tragedies hit,
there is no easy way out. You cannot simply close your eyes, click your
heels together three times and wish you were home again.
On Wednesday evening Lori and I were in New York City. We were just
leaving the auditorium where Luis Pabon's Dance troupe had performed in
the International Dance Organization's World Cup Competition when we
heard the news about the explosion near Grand Central. Our daughter
called to say that she heard all trains leaving the city were shut down for
the night. Panic set in as we tried to figure out how we were going to
handle the situation and get out of the city.
It is moments like that when you realize how good it is to have friends.
The dancers had come in on a bus and were loading up to go home. When
the news came in that the trains had been shut down, the group
immediately reached out and invited us to go home with them. Some of the
kids gave up their seats and squeezed in so we could fit. At 10:00 o'clock
the bus pulled into the commuter lot in Norwich and we were home again.
I thought about this the next day and it struck me that the community in
the church or the synagogue often plays the same role in our lives when
tragedy strikes. No one can change what happens when our world turns
upside down. The devastation of an unwanted diagnosis or an unplanned
pregnancy can send shock waves into our world. The loss of a job or
rejection by a loved one can sweep over us like a tsunami. But the
community is there and it gathers us up and carries us through. You see
this is how God works best. He calls us into community so that we can
encourage, support and love one another in the good times and the bad.
You never know when a steam pipe is going to burst. You can't predict
these things. But right now you can enjoy the blessing and joy of being
part of a caring community that is there day in and day out sharing the
love of God. And when the unthinkable happens to you, you won't have to
scramble to find help. You will be part of a faith community that will pick
you up and carry you home.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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