"Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." ... Ecclesiastes 5:2 (KJV)

There have been many who have spoken of the planning and actions that should have taken place before the disaster of Hurricane Katrina as well as of what should/could have been done afterwards. I am reminded the verity of the old cliché: "Analysis leads to Paralysis." The scripture quote has the heading "Circumspection enjoined."

This passage spoke to me and reminded me of the necessity for triage at scenes of disaster. For those of you not familiar with the term, triage is the decision to segregate the affect into three groups: those that can survive without immediate attention; those that that can survive with immediate attention and those that cannot survive with any attention. Triage forces uncomfortable and harsh realities and actions to be faced by the decision makers and the victims. Triage to me is necessary action personified with emphasis upon the most effective use of resources and time.

It is hard for me to justify all the blaming and ranting that has been going on of late in the media and in the halls of those who govern and those who would govern. All that furor begs the questions of what to do and how to succor the devastated Gulf Coast area and people.

I believe that all our energies must be directed towards solving the immediate problems and to also look to the future with resolve to take action to mediate potential disasters through appropriate planning and actions. It is truly awe inspiring to hear of the tremendous sacrifices and actions of this country's people and institutions as they rally their resources and folks to aid the hard stricken areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. I am proud of our nation's resolve and response to the tragedies and horrible impacts of the terrible storm. I am pleased that the other nations of the world are also reaching out to help us as we have reached out to them when they were in need. I am touched by the overwhelming unity of folks everywhere to help just because it needs to be done.

Let the words of my mouth
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord... Amen

Contributed by Michael S.
Published Sunday September 25, 2005
Week 44 of Liturgical Year A