Saint Lawrence would be proud

Watching national news a few nights ago, I heard a government official give an update on Houston’s evacuee situation. He gave numbers and statistics with a cold voice. Then someone asked where the volunteers were coming from. He pause, and his face twisted. Almost smiling, with an air of reluctance he said, “We couldn’t do this without the churches.”

I’ve seen it in my own community. In Mont Belvieu, the churches have come together in an unprecedented way. They have stepped up to the challenge of this situation. I am so proud of my community. Generosity poured out in the form of donations of clothing, money, food, and time. People took vacation from their jobs in order to sweat and labor for relief efforts.

Talking with some of our guests from New Orleans, many have come right out and said they did not know people could be so giving, so kind, and so loving. I have sensed, at times, that they questioned why churches would open their building and pantries and checkbooks and hearts. The answer is simple. People matter to God. Because people matter to God, they also matter to us.

In 257 A.D. the emperor Valerian began a wave of persecution against Christians in Rome. He mostly targeted members of the upper class who were also leaders in the church. The following year, the Roman prefect executed the Bishop of Rome, Sixtus II, and six of the head deacons. A deacon named Lawrence became the ranking official.

Lawrence was basically the chief financial officer of the church in Rome. Valerian had Lawrence brought before him and demanded that all the treasures of church be surrendered to the Roman government. For doing this, Valerian would spare his life. Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth.

When the appointed time came, Lawrence appeared again before the prefect. Rather than having with him carts of gold and silver and precious stones, Lawrence brought in the poor, the hungry, the sick, the widowed and orphaned, and the homeless. He looked the emperor in the eye and said, “These are the treasures of the church.” For this, Lawrence lost his life.

I have seen the spirit of Saint Lawrence alive and well since Katrina changed our lives. Churches have set aside worldly concerns and preplanned ministry calendars, bound themselves together, and poured out their all for the true treasures of God—people. This has been an incredible time to reset our focus and remind ourselves of what really matters.

More than silver and gold, God cares about people of this world. Katrina has taught us that buildings and highways, businesses and fortunes can (and one day will) all fall and disappear. But God has taught us that people last forever. Investing time and treasure in a person always brings a good return.

All the efforts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and welcome the stranger have not gone unnoticed. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40) I want to say thank you to my community, church family, and family of churches, for treasuring the men, women, and children God has sent our way.

~ by jakeporter on September 9, 2005.