Pray for Beirut And Our Hearts
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope all of you are staying safe during this unprecedented time. We had a great time in last night’s bible study and as we were looking at the maps of the bible, Rene mentioned that part of that map in on the news now, referring to the explosion in Beirut Lebanon. I mentioned that the incident has been heavy on my heart. Aside from the overall unspeakable tragedy of the Beirut explosion, I’ve thought about why I can’t stop thinking about what happened. I read an article a couple in the New York Times explaining what happened and how the explosion occurred. There was 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored on a ship, that was supposed to head to Mozambique. Now ammonium nitrate is a chemical found in fertilizer, airbags, ice packs and under most conditions is not dangerous or explosive. However, when the chemical (2750 tons worth) is compact by heat and air it yields an explosion comparable to 1155 tons of TNT.1) The ship carrying the potentially explosive materials was bankrupt and its owners abandoned the ship. The customs officials repeatedly wrote to the judiciary asking for the dangerous materials to be removed, sold, and/or exported. Letters were written but there were no answers and the explosive chemical sat in the port for six years, when it exploded on August 4. To date 200 people have died, 300,000 people became homeless and thousands were injured. The tragedy for me, was that this incident was completely avoidable. The bureaucracy surrounding the ship, the blaming, the shifting the paperwork from one department to another for over 6 years- led this to happen. The dangerous chemical harbored in the port could almost be a metaphor for the toxic mindset that pervaded the judiciary, the government and agencies that did nothing about this ticking time bomb. I believe that is what happens when everyone has a “that’s their problem” mindset… it is a ticking time bomb in society. I see a parallel with the current pandemic we are battling. Today we had 350 positive Covid cases in Hawaii. What was for a while seen as a mainland problem is clearly becoming a ticking time bomb for all of us. In this week’s passage Matthew 15:11 Jesus says, 11 “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Basically, Jesus is saying, how one lives in relation to the world, defines who they are. I realize that within myself I need to check for the “ammonium nitrate” in my heart. We all can be apathetic at times but when left unchecked and when compounded by a multitude of people who are only concerned for themselves can lead to a dangerous outcome. Let’s continue to practice compassion, empathy, and connection with the world around us like Jesus.
