On Sunday - Past Sermon

Sermon Title: "All the Commandments In One "
Date: September 4, 2005
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  Romans 13:9-14

Sometimes where you think you’re going isn’t where you end up. When I selected this lesson more than a week ago, I thought that today I was going to conclude a two-sermon series on the Apostle Paul’s admonition to love your neighbor. And then Katrina happened.

Some 85,000 college students—some freshmen, some seniors, some earning graduate degrees in law, education and medicine—thought they would be attending one of New Orleans’ twelve universities this fall. And then Katrina happened.

Monday night and on into Tuesday of this past week, category-4 Hurricane Katrina tore into the Gulf Coast, with winds in excess of 150 mph and a devastating storm surge, inflicting catastrophic damage in the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including the cities of New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Gulfport and surrounding communities. In New Orleans, the levees protecting the city were breached and as much as 80 percent of the city remains in standing water, up to 20 feet deep in some places. As the mayor of one nearby city said, “This is our tsunami.” Many are describing the flood resulting from the hurricane and breaks in New Orleans’ levees one of “biblical proportions.”

Although many people had evacuated the region, many did not or could not, and now thousands are stranded without food, clean water, electricity, means of communication or medical supplies. In New Orleans, some 30,000 people who remained in the city took shelter in the Superdome, but it was damaged by the storm and 11,000 of those people were evacuated to the Astrodome in Houston, about 300 miles to the west, at the end of last week.

President George W. Bush flew over the area on Wednesday and visited New Orleans on Friday, declaring the situation “one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history”, adding that “This recovery will take years,” and “The response is not adequate.” The president also said that tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the region had been damaged beyond repair and more than 78,000 people were in emergency shelters.

The largest rescue and relief mission in the history of the United States is under way, amid much criticism that the federal government’s response is too slow. Veteran Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staffers who have surveyed the destruction are reporting some of the worst damage they have ever seen. Church World Service, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and a host of other reputable relief agencies are on the scene, attempting to do their best to render aid.

More than 200 deaths related to the storm have been confirmed, but the number is expected to go much higher. The floodwaters have become a toxic soup of chemicals, decaying bodies, sewage and other debris. Because so many living victims still needed to be rescued, the dead have gotten little attention. The mayor of New Orleans declared that the final death toll in his city could be “in the thousands.”

There are grave concerns about the potential for cholera, typhoid and dehydrating diseases that could come as a result of the stagnant water and lack of supplies. Looting and violent acts occurred in affected areas. A neighbor exclaimed to me, “Have you seen those pictures in the newspaper? This is America! We’re supposed to be a civilized country!”

Hospitals in the flooded zones are operating without electricity and running water. The Bush administration has declared a public health emergency for the entire Gulf Coast. At least twenty-five percent of the nation's oil-producing and refining capacity was in the storm-ravaged area, and so fuel shortages and rising gas prices are expected throughout the nation. Recovery from Katrina's damage is predicted to be an ongoing effort for years.

So, I thought to myself: do I change the scripture lesson for today, or, do I find a lesson within Paul’s letter to the Romans that speaks to the horrible tragedy that is being played out on our televisions and, much more importantly, in the lives of tens of thousands of people? I chose the latter.

In many sermons over the years, I have asserted that if all humanity lived by the Ten Commandments, most of the rest of society’s laws would be superfluous. Paul does it one better, as did Jesus shortly before him. All the commandments, Paul said, “are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor…” (Romans 13:9-10)

A couple of paragraphs from Thursday’s newspaper may illustrate this point: “Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, besides offering the use of the Astrodome and other shelters in Houston, said that school-age children of the refugees would be promptly admitted to Texas public schools and given textbooks, lunches and transportation.

“‘In the face of such tragic circumstances,’ Perry said, ‘we know we’re neighbors and we’re going to pull together so that these families can find as much normalcy as they can. We realize that by the grace of God we could be the ones that have this extraordinary need.’”

“‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor…”

Remember those 85,000 displaced college and graduate students I mentioned earlier? Colleges and universities across the nation are agreeing to enroll some of them so they can do their fall semester studies. Many colleges are waiving the out-of-state resident’s fee. While our nearby Cal State-Long Beach is a popular and already full campus, sure enough it too will make room for some flooded-out students.

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor…”

While the initial response to this natural tragedy of epic proportions may have been slow in getting under way, everyone from corporate America to kids selling lemonade and raiding their piggy banks are stepping forward to help neighbors we don’t even know half-way across the nation. We here in earthquake country know it could just as well be us suffering another kind of natural disaster, and we would hope and pray others of like mind and means would help us out.

As far as the lawlessness that descended upon New Orleans last week when rifles and guns were stripped from Wal-Mart stores and senseless looting occurred on streets and in empty homes, it is appropriate that Paul quoted the eighth and tenth commandments in today’s lesson: “You shall not steal; You shall not covet.” And while his later words sound as if they would apply to New Orleans at Mardi Gras time—“Let us live honorably…not in reveling and drunkenness , not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy” (13:13)—they certainly apply to those of little moral character who are stealing and looting. While I was tempted at this point to assert that the admonition not to quarrel or be jealous likely applies to the unfortunate victims of the flooding as well, I laid awake in bed last night thinking how dare I judge someone stranded in a homeless shelter for a week without adequate food, clothing, medicine or sanitation. I got my two warm showers yesterday and slept in a comfortable bed with clean linens last night. I have nothing to quarrel or be jealous about.

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor…”

Paul’s words from nearly 2,000 years ago speak to today’s situation in the hurricane- and flood-stricken American south. As Christians, we are called to reach out in whatever way is possible and practical for us to render aid to these victims. I believe Jesus Christ himself would do no less.

All the commandments “are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor…”