hope antidote

i parked the car on the street....double checking to make sure it was locked by pushing my remote lock button. the distant beep of my horn brought a momentary peace to my heart. my possessions were guarded. we were in a neighborhood that has been reported in national newspapers for its poverty and foreclosures. multitudes of houses are boarded up. 100 feet down the road, a drug deal is taking place and threatening faces glare at me. local newspapers have reported that a katrina like financial disaster has hit this area, yet the help will not come like a hurricane. i made my way to a place of refuge.

refuge in this case is a franciscan catholic church. it towers above everything in the neighborhood serving as a diamond set against a black background. all of the doors are locked. permission is granted to enter, only for serious seekers. we knock on the quarters of the priests and are greeted with warm, godly feeling individuals. these front line warriors will be the last to turn the lights out on the neighborhood. in fact, they will refuse to turn the lights out...for they are the guardians of a flickering hope.

permission was granted to enter the sanctuary. i was amazed at the architecture and trappings of an ethnic crafted paradise to the glory of god. my english friend, stewart and i strolled slowly with eyes upward, feeling a sense of great reverance toward the century old piece of art. prayers began to bubble up, which we vocalized intermittenly. deep prayers of a call for restoration sprung forth from our inner most being. this is a spiritual picture of what the church can be...in a dark place. 50 feet of seperation from the street has thrust us into a deep place of solace and contemplation. if only this could spread through the surrounding neighborhood. within a stones throw, homes are being lost, dreams are crumbling, violence is raging in hearts and minds...yet here lie peace.

the church is truly the greatest hope...not the building, but what it represents. it contains the potential to be a carrier of a life giving virus called the kingdom of god. jesus being personified through humans can change the darkest abyss into a valley of life. dry bones awaiting a word of prophecy. water waiting to blush at the sight of jesus.

how petty our differences are. every concern that is breathed out of fustration rather than desperation seems pointless, void. this is a place of need. hope is the antidote. infectious spirits are needed to bring life. stage four warriors are being summoned by the spirit. those that have been infected to the bone....they know that life is truly fleeting...time is of the essence...they are compelled. these are the ones that will reap a reward.