lost causes

(warning this is a rant, so forgive me)

today I over heard a woman saying she wasn't going to give to Haiti because as a nation it is a lost cause...

this rant isn't really about the woman (especially as I have no right to stand as her judge even if I want to, and i do) or entirely about Haiti - it is about the reality that I love and attempt serve The I AM that I AM and She is there in every lost cause.

adam and eve post the fall = lost cause = God was there
Israel in Egypt = lost cause = God was there
the woman at the well = lost cause = God was there
the transatlantic slave trade = lost cause = God was there
the Holocaust = lost cause = God was there
civil rights in the U.S. = lost cause = God was there
the Rwandan genocide = lost cause = God was there
modern day slave trade = lost cause = God is here
Haiti = lost cause = God is here

the world is full of events and people and situations that are harder and deeper and uglier than any of us could ever imagine resolving. the world is full of causes that are harder than we can take on, on our own, but not one of them is bigger than our Redeemer, our Creator, our God; furthermore they are not bigger than the joint force of humanity working together along side God in the lost cause, and even more not once has God failed to call us to action as the lost causes around us continue to suffer

Do I find the situation in Haiti heartbreaking and paralyzing? yes
Does that give me an excuse to do nothing? NO
Do I think I am doing enough? sadly no

I love the passage about the goats and the sheep for many many reasons. one is the simple call to participate in the kingdom, two God is the one suffering in all the stories, God is not only with the lost cause, God is the lost cause.

Matthew 25:31-46
³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Dear Lover of the lost cause, forgive me my judgment, my weakness, my apathy, move in humanity to restore Haiti and every other nation and person that suffers. Help us to see you in the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned. I have not done enough, I cannot do enough, with You, I can do more. Help us, help Haiti.
amen