Healing and Wholeness Service

July 29, 2007

Sitting at Table

Deb Hyder, Parish Nurse

When I think of the 1960 and ‘70’s I grew up, I don’t think of the peaceful image that comes to mind when you think of “sitting at table” in heaven. When I think of the race riots, tear gas and brutality and atrocities committed against minorities and in wartime in those dark times it makes me shudder. I know that hate crimes still go on here and all over the world. Just follow the news reports—it’s madness.

From the Kairos document written anonymously in South Africa that opposes Apartheid, I read…. “Throughout the Bible God appears as the liberator of the oppressed. He is not neutral. He does not attempt to reconcile Moses and Pharaoh, to reconcile the Hebrew slaves with their Egyptian oppressors or to reconcile the Jewish people with any of their later oppressors. Oppression is sin and it cannot be compromised with, it must be done away with. God takes sides with the oppressed. As we read in Psalm 103:6, “God, who does what is right, is always on the side of the oppressed.”

How do we achieve peace in our time? Person by person, heart to heart. I truly believe peace is achievable. In fact, one of the oldest Sanskrit texts called The Vedas (compiled circa 1080-500 BCE) states “Walk together, talk together, O you people of the earth, and then, only then, can you have peace.” Walk together---talk together---if we could all slow down and share some conversation could the “scales” fall off our eyes as they did off Paul’s eyes after his conversion on the road to Damascus? Could the blindness of ignorance be shed as the light of peace dawns? I pray it will.

When I look at the enormous scope of worldwide peace I try to simplify it. Mother Teresa exemplified my feelings in her writings: “ I never look at the masses as my responsibility, I look only at the individual. I can love only one person at a time. I can feed only one person at a time. Just one. You get closer to Christ by coming closer to each other. As Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.” Mother Teresa continued: “So you begin…..I begin. I picked up one person-maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person I wouldn’t have picked up all the others. The whole work is only a drop in the ocean. But if we don’t put the drop in, the ocean would be one drop less. Same thing for you. Same thing in your family. Same thing in the church where you go. Just begin….one, one, one.

Usually every Sunday when Danny and I leave church and go eat lunch we will mention the sermon’s main point. I want to give that main point a name- let’s call it “the take home message.” The "take home message” I want you all to hear today is that it is important for us to reach out touch at least one person in peace whether it be at work, at home, at church or at school. Maybe we will just affect one- but I pray it will be “one drop in the ocean” that in time will provide a sea of peace. I pray it will be so Lord, Amen.