I have heard this old story a dozen times in sermons but was reminded of it during Hurricane Helene. A massive hurricane is moving towards land, and everyone is told to leave. One man, a deacon in his church, faithfully believed that if he prayed hard enough, the hurricane would change direction and miss his part of the state. He sat on the front porch and waited for God to hear his prayer. As the waters rose, a police officer in a monster truck comes by and tries to get him to get in, but the man refuses. An hour later, the waters lapping at the porch floor, the Coast Guard comes by in a boat, but he refuses to get in. The water is rising, so the man gets up on the roof and waits. A helicopter flies by, but again, he won’t get in. Each time, he tells them that God will save him. The man drowns, and as he stands before God at the Pearly Gates, he asks God why God didn’t answer his prayers. God says, “I sent a truck, a boat, and a helicopter, but you refused to get in. What more did you want or expect?”
A very wise women, Helen, who was a member of a church I served years ago, used to say that God works through people. She almost lost everything because she couldn’t stop drinking, but the people in her life helped her. Some of them told her that it was their calling to do this because God loved her. You never know when a phone call or a hug or a kind word can turn someone’s life around. Of maybe it’s doing something hard, like saying no until the person finds themself. Our words and actions and decision can change someone’s life, for better or for worse. God can answer prayers through us if we let God in and just do it.
Another thing this hurricane reminded me of is that God is speaking to us through nature, and nature is screaming at us to change the way we live. We can’t stop using fossil fuels overnight, but we can be more balanced in how we create and consume energy. We don’t have to stop eating beef, but we can consume less of it. We keep talking and praying about the way we are destroying the earth, but the truth is that God won’t heal it by God’s self. God works through people. Some people of faith are satisfied watching Creation burn because they believe that Jesus is coming in our lifetime, so saving the environment doesn’t really matter. None of us knows if that will or will not ever happen, but it doesn’t matter what we think. What matters is that we take responsibility for each other and our world. We only have one life and one planet, so we better take care of them and each other. Another overused trope, but still meaningful: I wondered why God didn’t answer my prayers and make everything better, and when I got to heaven, God asked me the same question. God answers prayers, but God does that through us. If we aren’t part of the solution, we are part of the problem. God works through people, so people, get to work.
Prayer – Holy and merciful God, we are instruments of Your peace. We all need to do Your work in the world. Amen. Today’s art is “Seven Days of Creation” by Subshobha Jenner