When Bad Things Happen...

Scripture

James 2:18

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith.  (NRSVUE)

Devotion

Yesterday, I preached about  part of being an Easter people is by committing acts of compassion and charity for the poor, the hurting, and the vulnerable.  Little did I know that I would soon see a powerful example of that kind of faith being shown through the works of people I will probably never meet.

I was using social media to check in on a few friends in Buffalo, New York when I saw it: one of them had shared a post by a group called Buffalo Community Fridge.  The Community Fridge is just what it sounds like--a refrigerator and limited shelf-stable pantry placed outdoors in a well known, public location.  The colorfully decorated fridge is part of a growing network of places where organizers address food insecurity by encouraging people in their communities to drop off what they can and take what they need.  As one of the organizers explained, the whole idea is built around the idea of mutual aid and relies upon people helping each other. 

Food programs are especially important in Buffalo right now.  The perpetrator of last week's mass shooting in Buffalo targeted a grocery store located in the midst of a food desert.  With the store shut down until the scene can be processed and restored, area residents have less access to groceries than ever.  Unless something is done, anyone without access to reliable transportation--including the  poor, elderly, homeless-- is is great danger of going hungry.  And that physical hunger will be on top of the mental and emotional trauma they are already experiencing.

The organizers of the Community Fridge immediately jumped in to do what they can by collecting extra food and monetary donations, setting up a table from which volunteers can help do day-long food distributions, and arranging for drivers to deliver groceries to people who can't get to their location.  People in Buffalo and around the nation responded.  When the organizers decided they had more money than they need at this point, they shut down their monetary donations site and started directing people to other organizations who are helping address Buffalo residents' needs.

Many of the organizers behind projects like the Buffalo Community Fridge don't consider themselves to be people of faith...but their actions tell a different story.  Whether or not they are part of religious community, they are expressing the kind of love and care God shows us to show for one another.  They are making a real difference in their community.  And I am in awe that when racist violence came to prey upon their community, these people's first reaction was not to hide in fear.  Not to respond with anger or hatred.  But to ease their community's pain by inviting people to come together and do what they can to aid the vulnerable and marginalized among them.  And I have to believe that Christ looks down on their work and smiles.

Mr. Rogers used to say that when bad things happen, we should look for the helpers.  This advice still rings true;and I would like to expand on it.  When bad things happen, we should look for the helpers and help them in their efforts.  And how do we hep?  By spreading the word.  By giving as we are able.  By acting when we can.

And when we can, we should be the helpers.  For it is through the work of helping others that we can demonstrate the power of our faith and be the people we are called to be. 

Prayer

God, thank you for the helpers among us, for their work furthers Christ's mission and shares his love. May your Holy Spirit inspires us to put our faith into action and become helpers in our own way, until all the world resounds with the joyful proclamations of what your love can do.  Amen.