A "Christian" Nation

 Throughout my lifetime I have always been grateful and proud of our American reputation as a “Christian” nation that cares for the disadvantaged, the poor and the oppressed.  In 2005 I visited Indonesia following the tsunami that decimated the islands in that region of the world.  I stood on the beach at Banda Aceh and listened to the gentle waves on the shore while the Indonesian people strolled along the jetties. It was a beautiful and peaceful afternoon. Behind me stood a lighthouse that had been erected as a beacon to passing ships. It now stood as a monument to the tragedy that struck on December 26, 2004. The top of the lighthouse towering above me had been blown apart by the powerful surge of water.

Aceh is perhaps the most rigid Muslim state in the world, governed by strict Sharia law. It is ruled by the Koran and the Muslim Imams. It prides itself as the “gateway to Mecca.” Prior to the tsunami Christians were not allowed entrance into the region. But the day the tsunami struck, everything changed. The city of Aceh was virtually wiped out by the massive wall of water.

I was visiting with a group of Americans attempting to assist the Non-Governmental-Organizations that had been allowed into the country to help the people rebuild. Separated from the rest of the world and taught that Christianity is evil, many of the people were asking why Christians were the ones who responded the most to their disaster. President Bush immediately pledged $350 million to help with the recovery. Like many Muslim countries, the people of Aceh equate America with Christianity.

I noticed a woman watching us. She was sitting on her motorcycle. Almost all Indonesians rode motorcycles. The streets were filled with them. For days I had watched them leaving for work in the early morning, weaving their way along the streets, whole families balanced on two wheels, the father driving, one or two children in his lap, the mother behind him with another child. I watched young women, their blue and green hijabs flying in the wind. Through an interpreter I struck up a conversation with the woman.

She asked if we were Americans. We said yes. She told us that she was at this very spot when the tsunami hit. She said it carried her and her two children more than two miles inland. One child was separated and drowned. Her husband and the rest of her family were killed. Only she and her son survived, but he was badly injured. His wounds were infected and he was dying. She said an American doctor came and treated her son and he lived. In spite of her deep sorrow and loss, she smiled, not just her face, but with her eyes, and said, “I want to thank you for coming.”

 Years later, in 2012, I served as pastor of an English-speaking church in Nuremburg, Germany, the site of Hitler’s Nazi rallies and the “Nuremburg laws” that launched the holocaust.  I found a people who were grateful for the American GIs and agencies who helped them rebuild their country after WW II. The recent Executive Order to shut down all U.S. financial aid to the world is disturbing  to me.

 Isaiah clearly described faith that is pleasing to God. “Is this not the fast that I choose:

…  Is it not to break your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will spring up quickly; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard,” (Isaiah 58:6-8).