Token Weeping By Pastor Kay Young

One day I visited the site of three new Habitat for Humanity homes being built near Mercy Hospital in Redding, CA. It is an uplifting experience to witness people who have traveled from many western coastal towns following the Holy Spirit into service for others, giving up vacation time, family time, and play time. There is a wonderful camaraderie within the group; they have become friends through working together for a just cause. And the homes will change the lives of three families forever.  This is the way Habitat works all over the world. In the Journal, Weavings, there is a small paragraph entitled, "Token Weeping." It begins: "To weep with the suffering does not mean, however, that we have a good cry and get on with other things. It is more that we have a good cry and we are never the same. We do not ‘shun the duty of proclamation and choose the easier way of prayer...Vicarious intercession springs from love; and love impels to proclamation rather than dispenses with it.’ Regular, disciplined weeping gives us a place from which to speak and act. As we work and pray and give on behalf of this cause, we do so with traces of tears that recall names and faces and places. We speak out about such situations not with the voice of a do-gooder but from a broken heart--one that has fellowshipped with God’s broken heart. This keeps us away from vengeance, fuels our work for justice, and bonds us to the heart of our weeping God." 1 This is the third day and workers arrived at the site this morning to learn that the generator they used for all equipment had been stolen overnight. Undaunted, while one member went to find a replacement, the others stood with me and prayed: grateful for the day and the ability to do this work, asking blessings on the houses and people who will occupy them, and, generally for people in need everywhere. This is a microcosm of a problem here at the church which has intensified lately.  Churches have sometimes been the target of acts of miss-use and vandalism. At the same time, they may also be reaching out to people in need in ways that are new to the church. It would be easy to lump all problems together and blame them on  drawing attention to the Church with new ministries, thereby setting it up as a target for expensive mischief. Before we allow ourselves to do that, let us compare a church and its work, with Habitat and its work. Habitat is clearly defined in its ministries, screens future home-owners, and nurtures them after they move in. The work of a church is not as clearly defined and is more global in its scope. We are bringing the Word to formerly unchurched folk. We do this by reaching out away from the safety and comfort of the church. And it is a risk. As churches grow in the understanding that this is what we are about, the work will not be such a mystery to us.  We, as churches can enter areas of community other organizations cannot and it is up to us to take up this banner.  As agencies and health care centers falter, more and more folk are sacrificed in the process. There will be many sleeping outside who formerly had jobs and homes. Our work will be to partner with other churches and organizations to help people help themselves. Habitat’s motto is, "not a hand out, but a hand up." We would do well to mirror some of the learnings of Habitat: love God fiercely, focus clearly, and work together out of our abundance to assist others in their need. Our communities need us all. We can do this. It is joyful work. It is rewarding work. It is God’s work. We are God’s hands. 1 Jan Johnson, "Weeping With God as a Spiritual Discipline", Weavings, vol 19, #3, May/June 2004, p 44