'A New Normal’

If one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers” (1Cor. 12:27).

I have been looking for the Scripture that will speak to the damage, even catastrophic damage, pain and suffering that Hurricane Ida caused as it crashed into southeast Louisiana.  As I write this message many today are without water, gasoline, power, even sewage and some are even hard to reach with the emergency aid they need.  I hope by the time you read this at least the emergency aid is arriving to those so desperate even if full restoration is weeks, months, maybe years away.

For a people so use to immediate responses, always present public utilities and to an almost immediate availability to everything we want, when we lose all this in a moment with Ida’s assault we quickly become demoralized, angry, frustrated, fearful and so impatient to get things “back to normal!” And this getting back to normal is on top of a year and a half of trying to “get back to normal.” From the depths of our being we are crying out, “Enough!”  I don’t know how much more I can take. I want things to be back to normal now!!

This profound frustration robs us of peace of mind, unsettles our sense of stability in the world around us and at its worst can rob us of hope.  How can we begin to restore our peace of mind, accept our new present reality and rediscover a hope that is big enough to give us the resolve to meet the challenges of this presently rather messed up world?  
I suggest we stop trying to make our life NORMAL by ignoring the challenges before us and acting like there are no problems.  COVID-19 is real; ask any hospital nurse or doctor.  Our whole state is in a state of recovery from two record setting hurricanes and while those who experienced the greatest damage cannot deny the reality of their destroyed or damaged houses, those who are recovering quickly certainly can feel as though the recovery is complete.  We should stop working for the restoration of “our” sense of normal and take a moment to see those suffering around us that need our help and love.  In making this change of mind and motivation I ask you to reflect on St. Paul’s words, drawing from his example of the church as a body with many parts that, “when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers.”  

Usually, when normal is our goal we are not thinking about how everyone else is doing but only about what is normal for us.  We should stop trying for everything to be normal even when it might be at the expense of someone else’s suffering. St. Paul’s words, in reminding us to consider those who still are suffering, requires that we remember the command of Jesus that we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  By changing our fundamental orientation from “normal” to “love one another” we begin to act in a whole new way.  We draw strength from our faith and the example of Jesus.  This is not giving up but rather expanding our hope for how we will heal and restore our homes, communities and our church.  

I believe that we so want these problems to go away that we just keep trying to act in spite of the realities that surround us.  And the more it does not work the more frustrated, angry and fearful we become.  These are not the fruits of the Holy Spirit and if those are our feelings it is a clear sign that something is spiritually wrong.  

But if we take a moment of prayer and accept the realities before us, grieve for what is lost and then begin to build standing on the firm, normal, unshakable and life-giving command of Jesus to “love one another” we might find the peace we are looking for and provide a foundation on which we can begin to work together.  

With this new goal in mind our actions become truly restorative and healing.  We may disagree on the way forward but if we are all trying to help everyone to be made whole again, then we may find the secret to how to move forward together, as one community, one body of Christ.  And with our deepest motivation being the care of others as well as ourselves in the common challenges before us, then we should expect the gifts of the Holy Spirit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22) to create with our hard, holy work a new normal, better than before.