Do You Not Have Faith?
Summary of Fr. Gerry Creedon's homily, June 21,
2009
“Waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up." Mark 4:37
"Molly Brown: [to the group who are dining at the same table in the Movie Titanic] Hey, uh, who thought of the name Titanic? Was it you, Bruce?
Ismay: Yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size, and size means stability, luxury, and above all, strength."
These lines from the movie Titanic describe the hubris of the human condition.
The film continues to rerun on late night television. For whatever reason it still captures my imagination and attention. Maybe it is the sight of the Irish in the hull in third class, perhaps it is the passion for life reflected by Winslet and Di Caprio, or maybe it is just the drama; the might and the glamour of the British Empire being crushed by an iceberg.
There is something universal about a boat in a storm, as biblical as today's gospel story of shipwreck. The image captures the crisis of our current economic crash. Nowhere is that chaos more graphic than in the experience of foreclosure. Today we had a visit from Macedonia Baptist Church. Their Gospel choir shook us to new life at the 5pm mass.
Close to their proximity in Arna Valley a whole neighborhood was recently gentrified in a way that scattered minority communities to the four winds, especially south to Prince William. There, some of the same people were offered the false fruit of first homes they could not afford. The same renters turned homeowners have been finding the streets again.
In this context we celebrate the initiative taken by Macedonia Baptist to provide 41 units of affordable housing. Property is sacred, and church property is doubly sacred. Yet they made their land available. Through VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement) members of our congregation advocated successfully with Macedonia for needed financial arrangements with the County of Arlington. I have joined their pastor, Rev. Leonard Hamlin, in the leadership of VOICE. He is a proud representative of a long line of Baptist preachers, including Martin Luther King, who have established the clear link between gospel and justice.
In their time of difficulty the disciples had to wake up the Lord, who was sleeping on a cushion. He arose and calmed the waters. "Do you not yet have faith?" The master of the elements brings us hope and balance in a time of fear.
May we as neighboring churches serve as heralds of hope and justice. Let us rely less on our own pride and depend in troubled times on the awesome grace of God.
