Friday, 17 September 2010
Yesterday I was on a bus in Lower Manhattan near the financial district (Wall Street). The bus was stopped at a traffic light. On the corner there was a man, white and in his late 50s, who was going through a trash can looking for food. He pulled out what looked to be a half eaten calzone (a pizza sandwich). He broke off a few outer parts, then he took a bite. Not good. He kept going through the trash can and found another calzone. It was a whole one. He took it and put it in his sack, then walked off.
One of the Psalms appointed for today is Psalm 69. The Psalm begins:
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
There are many today, including that man going through the trash can looking for a meal, who are in waters up to their necks. The latest poverty statistics have indicated that it is a growing problem in the U.S. The economy is bad. There are many in need of help. In New York City, Trinity Episcopal Church, right in the heart of the wealthiest few miles in America (Wall Street and Broadway), is reaching out to those in need. This is nothing new at Trinity. They have done it for years--since George Washington's day.
At Trinity and its outreach chapel, St. Paul's, the sound that it is heard is from Psalm 69:
For the Lord hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.
Amen!
Thursday, 16 September 2010
I am in New York City this week and staying right across the street from Ground Zero. The hotel room overlooks the exact spot where the two World Trade Center Towers stood. Although the area is fenced off as the construction of the memorial continues, downstairs in front of the hotel people gather and simply look. They look in silence. People of different races and I would imagine different creeds. It is particularly appropriate that one of the appointed Psalms for today is Psalm 70:
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.
O Lord, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonour
who desire to hurt me.
Let those who say, ‘Aha, Aha!’
turn back because of their shame.
Let all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
say evermore, ‘God is great!’
But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
The psalmist echoes the emotions of many people. We are all poor and needy, in need of God's deliverance and love. In the face of so much pain and suffering, anger and hate, our salvation is in God alone who is our helper and deliverer.
Please remember all of those who lost their lives on 9/11, all of the families who lost loved ones, and remember to pray for all of those who worked to commit such an atrocity--they too are in need of God's love.
In peace,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
1410 Jack Johnson Blvd. (41st Street)
Galveston, Texas 77550
Yesterday I was on a bus in Lower Manhattan near the financial district (Wall Street). The bus was stopped at a traffic light. On the corner there was a man, white and in his late 50s, who was going through a trash can looking for food. He pulled out what looked to be a half eaten calzone (a pizza sandwich). He broke off a few outer parts, then he took a bite. Not good. He kept going through the trash can and found another calzone. It was a whole one. He took it and put it in his sack, then walked off.
One of the Psalms appointed for today is Psalm 69. The Psalm begins:
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
There are many today, including that man going through the trash can looking for a meal, who are in waters up to their necks. The latest poverty statistics have indicated that it is a growing problem in the U.S. The economy is bad. There are many in need of help. In New York City, Trinity Episcopal Church, right in the heart of the wealthiest few miles in America (Wall Street and Broadway), is reaching out to those in need. This is nothing new at Trinity. They have done it for years--since George Washington's day.
At Trinity and its outreach chapel, St. Paul's, the sound that it is heard is from Psalm 69:
For the Lord hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.
Amen!
Thursday, 16 September 2010
I am in New York City this week and staying right across the street from Ground Zero. The hotel room overlooks the exact spot where the two World Trade Center Towers stood. Although the area is fenced off as the construction of the memorial continues, downstairs in front of the hotel people gather and simply look. They look in silence. People of different races and I would imagine different creeds. It is particularly appropriate that one of the appointed Psalms for today is Psalm 70:
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.
O Lord, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonour
who desire to hurt me.
Let those who say, ‘Aha, Aha!’
turn back because of their shame.
Let all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
say evermore, ‘God is great!’
But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
The psalmist echoes the emotions of many people. We are all poor and needy, in need of God's deliverance and love. In the face of so much pain and suffering, anger and hate, our salvation is in God alone who is our helper and deliverer.
Please remember all of those who lost their lives on 9/11, all of the families who lost loved ones, and remember to pray for all of those who worked to commit such an atrocity--they too are in need of God's love.
In peace,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
1410 Jack Johnson Blvd. (41st Street)
Galveston, Texas 77550
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