Romans 13:8-10 (GNB)

It would be very easy to get depressed by reading the headlines of the past week.  For example:

More than 2 years after 98 people died when their condominium tower in Florida collapsed, federal investigators have identified the cause as design and construction problems with the pool deck, which was not constructed according to building codes.

Actor Danny Masterson, of “That 70’s Show,” was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.

There is a humanitarian crisis on the border between Sudan and Chad.  At least 1 million people have fled Sudan since war broke out earlier this year, and at least 400,000 of those refugees have ended up in Chad.  People there, including children, are on the brink of death.

U.S. public health officials are warning of a growing threat which is fueling our nation’s opioid crisis: fake prescription pills.  The number of overdose deaths due to counterfeit pills more than doubled between 2019 and 2021.

The principal of an elementary school has resigned after an assembly that singled out African American students from two grades.  The students were told that they had not performed well on standardized tests and had to commit to doing better in school.  Only Black children were required to attend the assembly, regardless of their academic performance.

Add to those the usual stories about violence, climate change, divisive politics, natural disasters, rising costs of everything from cars to groceries, and it’s easy to see why we sometimes feel that it’s hopeless out there, that we can’t do anything to address the big issues in our country and in our world, and that evil is winning on all fronts.

But there is more to the story.  There is something else going on in the world.  And that is the power of love.  Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome nearly two thousand years ago that the only obligation they had was to love one another.  In fact, all of the commandments could be summed up in just one: love your neighbor as yourself.  The kind of love that Paul was talking about had more to do with behavior than emotions; it’s more about actions than feelings.  People know they are loved by how we treat them.  And just as love transforms the one who loves, it also transforms the lives of those who are being loved.

So this week, I went in search of stories that seemed to represent this kind of love, that seemed to demonstrate the goodness that is in people and in the world.  And I was amazed at what I found.

I read about an American caver who is in a dire situation in a cave in Turkey.  He is trapped there after experiencing stomach bleeding.  Rescuers have treated the man, Mark Dickey, but it could be days or weeks before they are able to get him out of the cave, because there are places too narrow to get a stretcher through.  But rescuers from all over Europe have rushed to this cave to work to get Mr. Dickey out safely.

I read about a man named Kian Lutu, whose grandfather was missing after the Maui wildfire.  He got on a plane from Seattle to Maui, hoping to help find his grandfather, who later turned up safe and sound.  But people who heard about Lutu’s trip had sent money to help those in Maui, and he received several thousand dollars.  He had to figure out how to use that money for people in need.  He ended up staying in Maui and volunteering at shelters.  He used $700 to send truckloads of water to people who needed to avoid contaminated water.  He bought $50 gift cards from a grocery store and donated them to an aid distribution center, which assured him that the cards would go the families that most needed them.  When another shopper at the grocery store saw Lutu buying all those cards, he also bought some to be given away.

I read about Captain Larry Taylor, who received the Medal of Honor on Tuesday.  He was an Army pilot during the Vietnam War who risked his life by flying into heavy enemy fire to rescue four members of a reconnaissance team whose position was about to be overrun.  On the night of June 18, 1968, Taylor flew his helicopter to rescue the men after they had become surrounded by the enemy.  Taylor said he knew he had to figure out how to get the men out because otherwise they wouldn’t make it.

Pope Francis was in Mongolia last week, where he inaugurated a church-run homeless clinic and shelter.  Several Catholic religious orders in Mongolia run shelters, orphanages, and nursing homes in a country where 1 in 3 people lives in poverty.  This new clinic is specifically for people with disabilities and victims of domestic violence.  Pope Francis said, “The true progress of a nation is not gauged by economic wealth, much less by investment in the illusory power of armaments, but by its ability to provide for the health, education, and integral development of its people.”  There are currently 77 Catholic missionaries in Mongolia.

Then there was a reminder that September 11 is a National Day of Service and Remembrance, a time to honor the 9/11 victims and the first responders by doing good works.  Around 30 million people mark this day each year by participating in charitable activities around the country.  Many people volunteer and others choose to donate to non-profits that honor and support those affected by the 9/11 attacks.  What a great way to take a day of mourning and turn it into a day of joy!

I read about a woman named Susan Burton, who is reaching out to assist women who are newly released from prison.  Having served time behind bars herself, Burton has a keen understanding of what these women face.  She provides housing and a host of resources to help them become assimilated into society again.  She has also trained people in other communities to set up similar programs.

Osei Boateng grew up in a small village in southern Ghana.  He watched many of his family members and neighbors struggle to get access to basic health care.  It could take hours to get to the nearest hospital in many parts of the country.  Many people lost their lives to preventable or treatable diseases, such as malaria, stroke, and respiratory infections.  Boateng decided to make it his life’s work to bring health care to remote communities in Ghana.  He started a non-profit foundation and converted a van into a mobile doctor’s office and started bringing health care directly to the people who needed it.  His team includes a nurse, physician’s assistant, doctor, and operation assistant.  They can run basic labs and provide medications.  Since 2021 the Hope Health Van has served more than 4,000 people. 

And then there is the barbershop reading program.  A first-grade teacher was in a barber shop waiting for his haircut and noticed one of his students come in.  He just sat there, bored, in line for his turn in the chair.  The teacher thought, “He could be practicing his reading while he sits here.”  He thought about that for a long time, and five years later he started Barbershop Books.  Since 2013 the organization has donated more than 50,000 books to more than 200 barbershops in predominantly Black neighborhoods across the country.

I guess you see where I’m coming from by now.  There is a LOT of GOOD going on out there!  People are demonstrating love in some amazing ways!  They are showing compassion and kindness for other human beings through their actions and behaviors, and not just through their words or feelings.  Some of them are religious people, and others probably not.  But they are putting into action the kind of love that Christ called his disciples to, the kind of love Paul reminded us to show to one another.

For a lot of the world’s problems, it may very well be that love is the answer.  Because when we love each other, we have no desire to harm one another.  We want each other to have what we need in life, to be safe, to be fed, to have access to medical care, to be treated with fairness and justice.  We want for other people what we want for ourselves: to love and to be loved.  Love will not tolerate racism, sexism, or any other ism that you can think of.  Love will speak up when someone’s rights are being denied.  Love will address the causes of oppression and violence and war.  And love will always, always work to save lives which have been damaged by suffering, abuse, pain, or some violation.  Love – genuine love put into practice – is the answer for much of what is wrong in our world.