We started the day with a wonderful celebration of praise at Santiago de Apostol church. The music and singing was consistent with my past experiences in Central American countries. It really is a joyful noise, but the thing about it is that these people sing with all of their heart; they hold nothing back, regardless of melody or harmony. And while it may at first seem distracting, the joy that they bring to worship is something matchless at home. When I lead worship at home, I am always focussed on accuracy and presentation. When these people worship with guitars and keyboards, they are focussed on worship, and nothing else. That is not to say that I don't believe we worship in our own church, not in the least. From the front of the chapel I can see the joy on people's faces as they worship and sing. But there is a reservation at home that these people are not familiar with.
Deacon Suyapa, the deacon in charge at Santiago de Apostol, gave a sermon that was translated by Heidi Verges. She told a story that went something like this: a chef in a Honduran kitchen brought in two baskets of shrimp and told his assistants to cover the first basket and leave the second basket uncovered. When the assistants asked why, the chef replied that the first basket was American shrimp, and when one shrimp tried to jump out of the basket, all of the others would help him get out, then help each other get out, and soon you would have a line of American shrimp heading out the door. You must cover that basket to keep them from escaping. The second basket was Honduran shrimp, and when one tried to get out, the others would grab a hold of him and keep him from jumping out in case he escaped and they were unable. There was no need to cover the second basket because the Honduran shrimp would not be able to escape. The point to the story, as Suyapa explained, is that the Americans who come to Honduras come to help them escape the blindness of their hearts (as related to the Gospel reading from John), but that their sense of pride or machismo would not allow them to release their blindness.
I found this interesting because this is told from the perspective of the Hondurans. Its like when someone praises you for being something that they see from the outside, but you know in your own heart what your own flaws are and feel completely inadequate to receive their praise. I personally feel very convicted by the Gospel reading where Jesus rubs mud on the blind mans eyes and tells him to wash it away and his sight is restored. The Pharisees question the man and his parents, but fail to believe in the miraculous claims about Jesus, even from the mouth of the healed. How is it that we hear miraculous stories from people who claim it happened to them, and yet are skeptical? How is it that we allow our pride to stand in the way of irrational belief? Surely I am too smart to believe something silly like that. My faith is a mature and rational faith, and I simply can't allow myself to believe in crazy stories.
But here we were, receiving undo praise from the recipients of these miraculous work we are doing in Honduras. We are the shrimp who come to help our brothers out of the basket. I wish we were that way at home. I wish that when we saw someone in need as a church that we could respond better than referring people to a shelter. Jesus said its easy to love your brother or your friend; what reward is there in that? Even sinners do that. The miracle is in loving those whom no one can love. I've seen that happen here this week. I wish I had been the one to do. I had thought of it but simply couldn't work up the courage to. His name is Antonio. He has AIDS and is an outcast in his society. He has been hanging around all week long at the construction site. he has looked for ways to get involved. He has sat up on the second floor and watched us work, and when he tried to get involved, the Jefe, Arnold, waved him away. I saw the sadness in his eyes. I saw the longing for human interaction, but I was afraid to engage him.
Spencer Lengyel wasn't afraid. On Saturday during the Christian Ed program, Spencer offered him a meaningful and important task: filling up balloons for balloon animals. Antonio jumped in and filled up all of the balloons and was so happy to be involved. Spence, you are a true American shrimp!
This is a picture of Antonio. He proudly sports his balloon hat, and you can almost see a smile on his face!
