Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46.
"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the candle because the dawn has come." That's an affirmation my friend Debbi made after her husband BJ died of AIDS in 1993.
Debbi was a committed Christian who took seriously the verse in Matthew 25, "I was sick and you visited me." God had called her to minister with people with AIDS. That wasn't easy in Charlotte, North Carolina in the mid-80s and early-90s. It was even harder because Debbi's family actively discouraged her. That disagreement split them apart. After BJ's death and her own diagnosis with HIV, Debbi tried to reconcile with her parents. Their relationships were still uneasy on February 24, 1996 when she got in her car to go see them. She never it made it.
I was shocked by the news that Debbi had been killed in a car accident. I was even more dismayed by the events that followed. Debbi's parents put out the word, "If you are gay or if you have AIDS, we do not want you at our daughter's funeral." For ten years, Debbi's ministry had been with people with AIDS and their loved ones. Now they were forbidden to go to her funeral.
That's why the e-mail came. Doug, a man with AIDS, asked me to fly down and conduct a memorial service for Debbi in Charlotte. "We can't pay you very much," he said. "We can't even cover your travel expenses, but will you come?"
Doug, Debbi, and I were all part of an electronic community called CAM, which was short for Computerized AIDS Ministries. CAM was and is a program of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). Technically I was the sysop of CAM, but Doug and others also regarded me as their friend and even their pastor. For this reason, though I had never met Debbi face-to-face, I was asked to conduct her memorial service.
I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, my expenses paid by GBGM. The celebration of her life happened on Saturday, March 16, 1996. What a mix of people attended: men and women, black and white, HIV positive and HIV negative, gay and straight, churched and unchurched, mostly people who were poor but some of moderate means. We wore red ribbons. We were those whom Debbi called her "family of choice." For more than an hour, we worshiped God and remembered Debbi Hood Johnson. We spoke of her favorite scripture about visiting the sick and Jesus' words, "just as you did it to one of the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it to me." On that night, we affirmed that we were "family" and loved by God.
Debbi and her friends faced discrimination in the mid-80s and 90s. Even today prejudice against people with AIDS continues to be a problem here and abroad. For this reason, the theme for World AIDS Day in this year and 2003 will be "Stigma and Discrimination." In describing the theme, UNAIDS says, "Only by confronting stigma and discrimination will the fight against HIV/AIDS be won."
"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the candle because the dawn has come."
I was in New York City on September 11 when billowing smoke from the Twin Towers blotted out the beautiful blue sky. On September 11, mortality sat down in front of me and peered into my eyes. Death first appeared dramatically before me in the early 1980s when several of my friends died of AIDS. The pandemic has worsened in the past 20 years; projections of AIDS-related deaths are even bleaker for the next 10 years. Today, this very day, 8,000 people will die from AIDS-related causes. More than 6,500 of them are living in Africa (UNAIDS, 2000 statistics).
Last September, about 3,000 people died as a result of the plane crashes in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. We will never forget the horror of 9/11. In Africa, however, every day is September 11. Zimbabwe is one of the hardest hit nations. At least one third of the people in Zimbabwe are HIV positive. Each week, about 2000 AIDS-related funerals are held there. Coffin building is a booming business. Over a million children have lost one or both of their parents to this disease. Worldwide 13 million children have been orphaned. During our worship time today, over 250 children will become AIDS orphans (1 every 14 seconds, 2000 statistics).
The United Methodist Church is the third largest Christian church in Zimbabwe. AIDS orphans have a great friend in the UMC. In the past, when African children were orphaned, members of their extended family took them in. Now with so many adults and also young people dying of AIDS, there are not enough family members to take the orphans. For this reason, members of the UMC of Zimbabwe created programs that allow children stay in their own homes. Caregivers from the churches visit them regularly to see to their needs and make sure they are well. They teach children skills such as how to care for the house and cook, sew and knit, do carpentry, and make pottery. In short, now the UMC of Zimbabwe is the extended family for AIDS orphans.
As best they can, the churches pay the children's school fees, clothes, and other necessities. They have fund-raising projects, but they can't make enough money to cover the costs of the thousands of orphans in their care. That's where the rest of the United Methodist Church comes in. Like the UMC of Zimbabwe, we can be family to AIDS orphans; we can send financial help. It costs only $1 a day to feed a child in Zimbabwe? $50 a year pays school fees to send a child to primary school; $75 a year sends a child to secondary school.
So little goes so far in Zimbabwe. Grande Tanda has lost her three adult children and their spouses to the AIDS crisis. With the help of her eldest grandson, Tefedzwa, she she looks after her eight grandchildren. Sometimes, the children must eat in "shifts" -- that means some eat one day and the others eat the next day. When given a gift of 500 Zimbabwe dollars ($10.00 U.S.), Grande remarked, "I've never held this much money in my hand at one time."
You might be startled to learn that in a recent survey only 8 % of people living in the United States said that they would definitely donate money for the international AIDS crisis; another third said they might contribute. In the same survey, 54 % said they would not help AIDS orphans. By contrast, more than 70 % of these same people donated to funds to help those affected by September 11 attacks. ( poll 2001 Barna Research Group.) Obviously both are these are good causes, but you hear my concern. I repeat. In Africa, every day is September 11.
We have just finished the season of Lent, the time when the days lengthen, and now Holy Week has come. It is a time for reflection on God's call and renewing our faith. It is a time give of ourselves and help others. It is a time to look for ahead toward the dawn.
In the area of AIDS ministry, here are some things that we can do now and in the future:
1. First of all, we can educate ourselves about AIDS and the people most affected. We can reduce our own ignorance; we can work to overcome the "stigma and discrimination" that often accompanies AIDS. We can take steps in our own personal lives to prevent being infected by HIV and infecting others. We can visit the AIDS Memorial Quilt when it is exhibited and reflect on the loving hands that made the panels and the loved ones who are represented by the panels. We can wear red ribbons. We can observe World AIDS Day 2002 on December 1 with worship and educational events. The General Board of Global Ministries makes church-related materials available on its web site each year.
2. Secondly, we can donate money to one of the United Methodist Advance Specials related to HIV/AIDS. I have especially highlighted the "AIDS Orphans Trust," but there are others both here in the United States and overseas.
3. Finally, if we want to do something more hands-on for Africa there is the "Healthy Homes, Healthy Families Kit." It is an infection control and basic care kit with 22 essential supplies needed care for an ailing loved one and prevent the spread of infection. Some of the items are a washcloth, towel, sheets, bandages, bleach, and multivitamins. These are things we take for granted but are not readily available to many Africans. Sponsoring groups collect some of these supplies and send an additional $100 to the Interchurch Medical Assistance, which buys the rest before shipping the kit overseas.
As Christians we remember that Jesus said, "just as you did it to one of the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it to me." Surely AIDS orphans and people who are sick and hungry in Africa and other places around the world qualify as the "least of these."
"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the candle because the dawn has come."
Just three days before his crucifixion, according to Matthew's gospel, Jesus spoke about caring for "the least of these." Death was sitting in front of him and peering into his eyes at the same time as he underscored the importance of righteous, humanitarian acts. On the next day, just two days before his death, a woman anointed Jesus with expensive ointment but Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. On the eve of his death, Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples, agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was arrested. On Friday, he was crucified.
During the last three days of his life, Jesus became as one of the "least of these" of whom he had spoken – he was a stranger who was rejected by some but welcomed by others; he was stripped naked by some but wrapped in a clean linen cloth by others; he became sick unto death and was ridiculed by some but comforted by others; he was thirsty and was given a bitter drink by some and a better drink by others; no one visited him the brief time he was in prison but the women were a supportive presence at his execution.
We know the rest of the story. The candle was snuffed out, but the dawn came at the resurrection. Throughout this sermon, I have spoken of death but also of the dawn represented by acts of love among members of God's family. We are invited to step into the morning with Jesus. One way we can do that is to care for the "least of these," who are the Christ in the midst of us. The "least of these" includes people with AIDS and their loved ones– in our community and beyond. Can you see the daylight? Look! The dawn has come!
The Rev. Dr. Nancy A. Carter is the web system operator for Health & Welfare Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church. A version of this sermon was given during chapel at West Virginia Wesleyan College on March 19, 2002.
AIDS in Africa: Heartbreak and Hope
http://gbgm-umc.org/health/aidsafrica/
News, background, and how to help through UMCOR.
Computerized AIDS Ministries (CAM)
http://gbgm-umc.org/cam/
Inspiring stories, worship resources, and how to join CAM's e-discussion group.
A Generation of Hope: Orphans of the Zimbabwe AIDS Crisis
http://gbgm-umc.org/health/aidsafrica/hope.cfm
Background on this topic and a complete online video.
Health and Welfare Ministries, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church
http://gbgm-umc.org/health/
Information about this unit and links to resources related to its concerns, including AIDS, comprehensive community-based health care, congregational ministries, disability concerns, and tuberculosis.
I Wear a Red Ribbon by Debbi Hood Johnson
http://gbgm-umc.org/cam/i-wear.html
"People often ask me why I wear a Red Ribbon...." a personal account which continues to inspire people around the world.
Spiritual Resources in the Aftermath of 9/11
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/loveupdate/spiritualresources.stm
Art, hymns, photos, prayers, and how to help.
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), General Board of Global Ministries
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/
Information about this unit and links to resources related to its work in the areas of emergency response, poverty/hunger, and refugees/immigration.
UNAIDS
http://www.unaids.org
Statistics, backgrounders, resources for World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day and The United Methodist Church
http://gbgm-umc.org/programs/hiv/wad.html
Resources for World AIDS Day 1997 through the most recent observance.
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