Where Does Our Help Come From? (Ps. 121:1)
When the sting of death and pandemic turns into a dull denial and numb reality, where do we find hope? Mr. Fred Rogers often said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
Where does our help come from?
Mr. Rogers's message was for children who needed to know that when disaster struck, there would still be hope. Hope that good people like doctors, nurses, first responders, activists, pastors, teachers, lawyers, policewomen, and neighbors would help.
Where does our help come from?
Where do the helpers find hope? What does it mean to be a helper finding hope? Does it mean not canceling services, or getting wrapped up in serving communion, or holding online worship services? A pastor in Florida thinks holding church services proves that God is where our help comes from. Must we prove this by gathering for the sake of a pastor’s ego?
Where does our help come from?
Is there a neighbor or elderly person needing hope that you might be ignoring? From where does that person find their help? Might God be expecting you to provide a measure of hope for a person in need this week?
Where does our help come from?
Families comfort and help us. Are families the end or goal of our help and comfort? But what if we are separated from our families by glass, distance, or death in these times?
Where does our help come from?
Doctors and nurses in harm’s way are the help of patients struggling to breathe on their own. For those patients with the sensation of drowning with COVID-19, a ventilator is their help.
Where does our help come from?
President Roosevelt said, “The credit belongs to the [person] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends [self] in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if [she or] he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that [her or his] place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” [1]
I know and honor many who are in the “arenas,” risking their own lives – bloodied and possibly breathing airborne virus droplets that might kill them. My brother Toby, a medical doctor, is serving patients in New York. A nurse friend, Kym, just traveled to New York to volunteer with one of the new pandemic epicenters. My daughter Anna is an R.N. in her first weeks in the hospital. Will she soon be caring for patients with the virus? My niece Hannah, my sister-in-law Gina, and many friends are on the front lines of this pandemic as health workers. My nephew David is looking out for the interests of the homeless in Denver with Dry Bones.
On the other hand, some may not be able to be in the arena to so acutely risk their lives. Can they still help?
Where does our help come from?
My wife Jill wrote a letter to hundreds of high school students, calling on them to serve during the pandemic and time at home. How? She gave examples such as writing emails to the elderly who are lonely, and picking up trash in neighborhoods when they exercise – whatever they could do while staying safe with social distancing. Jill is calling her students not only to look for the helpers but also to be helpers.
Where does our help come from?
One thing you can do is ask your state representatives for help. Please read this article, “Urgent Principles for Maintaining Economic Stability.” Whether you agree with every part is not the point. Use it to form your own ideas, then let your legislators know what you believe. Do you believe people not yet convicted of a crime should be turned out of county jails? Do you believe there should be economic relief to millions of laborers, not just big corporations? Call your local and state elected officials. When you talk to representatives or their offices, tell them stories about people struggling.
Where does our help come from?
I was talking with a man yesterday who thought science and faith had nothing to do with one another. I shared with him that I believe God created science and wisdom, and is the author of hope and the human spirit.
Where does our help come from?
In the comments, I'd enjoy hearing how you are looking for helpers. It’s important to tell stories about those hurting and those helping.
Where does our help come from?
As we experience Holy Saturday 2020, do we end there? Do we stay in the place of despair and hopelessness and helplessness? No! Saturday will give way to resurrection Sunday! Just as surely as we the church carry the death of Jesus in our bodies, we must also carry the resurrection hope of Jesus Christ to a suffering, dying world. We can’t explain what is happening, but we can be with people in the midst of what is happening.
God bless all of you today as you look for helpers. God bless you as you become helpers to those experiencing helplessness. God bless you to reach out to those living Holy Saturday, when Jesus is still in the tomb. On this day, when the sting of death and pandemic turns into a dull denial and numb reality, where do we find hope? God is turning us toward one another, even through Zoom, and we are pointing one another to our great helper, the maker of heaven and earth (Ps. 121:1).
Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
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[1] Theodore Roosevelt, “Citizenship in a Republic” (Sorbonne, Paris, France, April 23, 1910).
