Part IV of Susan Hayes' sermon on the Joplin Work trip held in June 2012.
In the chaotic first
days after the tornado, when nothing seemed real, word of the butterfly people
began to spread…The stories about butterfly people coursed through Joplin…tales
describing what children reported seeing on that Sunday night last May as the
tornado bore down. The children of
Joplin said the butterfly people protected them. These tales of guardian angels could, of course, be
dismissed as children’s imaginations…
the tornado killed
161 people…it shredded neighborhoods…more than 900 homes were lost…big box
stores collapsed…the destruction was complete…
In the midst of this
the butterfly people stories began to be shared…stories of mothers and fathers
with their children in imminent harm…stories of the tornado passing over these
children without harming them…”Weren’t they pretty?” one three year old asked
her mother after the tornado left them in a ditch unharmed…the Mom was confused…”Didn’t
you see the butterfly people?”
Butterfly people…or
angels are a child’s way of understanding what happened, why some died and
others lived…children cannot control whether they are caught in a tornado…but
they can control the meaning they take from it…
While I would say
this spirit of good, this comfort amidst tragedy is God’s doing…I would never
doubt God’s power to love and protect our youngest ones…maybe even in the form
of a butterfly…
Joplin now has a
beautiful mural on the side of a printing business on main street…it includes
butterflies and bandaids…it symbolizes hope and comfort to Joplin’s children.
Jesus is clear about
our mission as his people…love God first…and when we do…it is our neighbor who
we love next. It IS a beautiful
day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor…would you be mine?
Will you be
mine? Won’t you be my
neighbor? For our friends in
Joplin this week and down the road…yes, yes, absolutely yes!! Thanks be to God!
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