From the Pastor’s Heart

A couple of days ago I was sitting in an outpatient waiting room at one of the hospitals in Pittsburgh. I very much enjoy observing people. And, as I sat there, I saw an elderly couple sitting directly across from me. They both appeared to be very frail but I noticed that it was the woman who had the hospital band on her wrist. She looked weary and worn. She gently took the man’s hand and held it tightly. He gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He looked confused and bewildered, and I could see a sense of fear in his eyes. But the frail woman obviously found solace in the man by her side. She put her head on his shoulder and tried to muster a weak smile as she closed her eyes. He continued to hold her hand and leaned his head over and rested it on her head. I allowed my imagination to work overtime. Did he know something she didn’t? Or maybe they both knew what they were about to face would not be easy. I wondered why they were alone. Didn’t they have any children or grandchildren that could accompany them? At the moment, all they had was each other, and that seemed to be enough. My heart was touched by the love and care they expressed for each other.

In whom do you find solace? Whom is the one in your life that offers the reassurance that is often needed? Who can you count on?

A true story I read in “Sermons on the First Readings” illustrates this kind of reassurance and dependability. “In 1989, an 8.2 magnitude earthquake flattened much of the state of Armenia and killed over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of the utter devastation and chaos, a man left his wife in the security of others at home and rushed to the school where he had taken his son that morning, only to discover that the building was damaged almost beyond recognition. After he recovered from the trauma of his discovery, the man remembered a promise he made to his son a few years earlier: ‘No matter what, I will always be there for you!’ The man’s eyes filled with tears as he looked at the pile of debris that once was the school. Despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, the commitment he had made continued to haunt him.

The father concentrated on where his son might be in the building, remembering where he had dropped him off that morning. When he felt he knew the location, he began to dig through the rubble. As he was digging, other forlorn parents, clutching their hearts and crying out the name of their child, tried to pull him off the pile, saying, ‘It’s too late! They are dead; you can’t help hem now.’ To each parent he only responded, ‘Are you going to help now?’ The police then came and said to the father, ‘you are distraught and angry, but in your actions you are endangering others. Go home; we will handle it.’ But again the father responded, ‘Are you going to help now?’ No one was willing to help.

Courageously, the man continued with his task, for he needed to know for himself if his son was dead or alive. He dug for eight hours—twelve hours—24 hours—36 hours and then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a huge boulder and heard his son’s voice. He screamed his son’s name, ‘Armand!’ The boy called back, ‘Dad, it’s me! I told the others here not to worry. I told them that if you were alive you would save me because you had promised, ‘No matter what, I will be there for you!’ You did it, Dad.’ The boy and thirteen companions had been saved when a triangle-like wedge formed when the building collapsed. The father called his son, ‘Come out, boy!’ ‘No, Dad,’ said the son, ‘let the other kids out first, because I know you will get me. No matter what, I know you will be there for me!’” This true account is an excellent illustration of how one man refused to give up. This young boy knew that he could count on his dad. It is such a blessing when we have others in our lives to whom we can turn for comfort and strength.

During that same visit at the hospital where I observed the elderly couple, I also saw a man who was all-alone. He had difficulty walking and had trouble hearing. He looked so very alone. I realize not everyone has someone to lean upon. Not everyone has a shoulder to turn to. The good news is we all have our Divine Creator, in whom we can trust our very lives.

This Sunday we will celebrate All Saints Sunday. It is a day in which we remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died in the last year. In that celebration, we find strength, comfort and peace in God’s promise: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” We also find solace in Jesus’ promise; “I will not leave you orphaned.”

We are not alone. Jesus takes each of us by the hand and gives a reassuring squeeze. Thanks be to God.

Blessings,

Pastor Russel