It probably started with our parents. Both my wife and I come from homes as imperfect as anyone’s, but stable. Our parents were married once and stayed that way until a spouse died. We didn’t have a home where waifs and homeless cycled through like Mother Theresa’s family, but there was always love and caring.
As teenagers, we drifted towards those who were on the fringes and not part of the in crowd. Maybe they needed friends and comfort, more likely we saw ourselves in their loneliness. Early in our marriage we had the normal spaghetti pot luck dinners and BBQs, but there was always a couple or two where we would make sure we provided the vast majority of the food, often bringing “extra” groceries that we had. It’s just the way things were.
With children growing up, we started having one or more of our kids’ friends staying with us. Although we had our share of tough times, we were the same stable family our parents had. An island in the storm of discord for others. We weren’t special, or better in any way, just consistent. The times kids were with us we didn’t have special rules or try to have interventions, just the same rules of the house, chores, and the expectation of respect. A couple of times they’d go off the rails and we’d be at the jail to pick them up. They all survived and with just a couple of exceptions, are thriving in life to this day.
One of our children and then the other made their way in life off to college, starting a career and becoming their own person. But, the helping continued. When I was called to ministry, our congregation met Saturday evenings; when the chapel is free, you take advantage of it. After the service, we always had a meal. Fellowship and food, pot luck but always enough to send home our intentional leftovers. Our outreach ministry involving members from the church and others made sack lunches for the homeless, provided anonymously through a soup kitchen.
It’s curious that the service and direction we have which is so obvious to us, is a challenge to others. I recall one neighbor who occasionally came to church but never helped with the sack lunches. I decided to ask her one last time, and she said that she had been praying about it, but wasn’t sure it was a calling the God was setting out for her. In my mind I thought, “It’s not a calling, I’m just asking if you’ll help us make lunches for hungry people.” About the same time, I asked for permission to use the church’s kitchen and large dining hall for an outreach program I called, “Join us for Sunday Dinner.” This was to be an open invitation to people in the community, some of whom were homeless, others shut ins, to get out, have a free community meal, and hear an encouraging message. They declined to let us use the facility; their main concern was “What if homeless people start hanging around the church?” Indeed.
At that point I started to understand that people often set up reasons not to help people, and more importantly, it didn’t matter if Leonora and I didn’t have help, it was our calling. I have all the scriptural reasons to help feed the hungry, Ruth 2, Matthew 25, … The bottom line, however, is that this is our calling.
When you read through scripture, there are only a handful of cases where people needed to qualify to receive help, and those were centered around their refusing to work or help out, being disruptive yet still wanting a prime seat at the table (2 Thessalonians 10) In every other case, you give and help those in need without judgement or merit. We all fall short of grace and none are deserving, but God loves us anyway. We are called to help and encourage, not judge need.
We are now facing the next chapter. It’s been on our hearts for a long time that Christian communities can be functional and effective, without being holier than thou. A key component is taking care of those in need, especially the poor, widows, orphans and others without support. The first step in our hearts, is to have a community garden where the food is given away. No preaching, no judging, no qualification. If you feel you need food, come and get it. The response from the community, however, has be tepid at best. We were feeling a little discouraged, but one of our friends, a former “kid we helped” pointed out that it’s tough for people to visualize what we’re trying to do. With this friend, his girlfriend, and the two of us, it will be enough to tend the garden, albeit a lot of work. My Archbishop observed that we are new in our small town, and this is OUR calling. As we work and pray, we should be asking for God to send helpers whose heart is similarly inclined and that He wants to help. Sure enough, the day after I approached my prayers for help that way, a neighbor came to the house eager to help and wondering how soon we could put him to work in the community garden.
I share all of this as an encouragement. While 1 Corinthians 12 has a list of spiritual gifts, Galatians 2 enumerates fruits of the Spirit, the proof of good works. So whether you are called to pray for others, teach Sunday school, serve meals, visit prisons, or work a garden to feed the hungry, prayerfully approach your calling. Ask our Heavenly Father to guide you, lead you, and show you the work to be done. And as you do the work you are called to do, prayerfully ask Him to send those He needs to work with you. Do not be discouraged if others don’t “catch your vision.” The right people will, and we’re not trying to make our fortune with the newest doodad, we are disciples serving in the Kingdom of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment