Serving the Stranger Among Us

In his Rule for monastic community, Benedict of Nursia wrote, "Any guest who happens to arrive at the monastery should be recieved just as we would recieve Christ himself, because he promised that on the last day he will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Proper respect should be shown to everyone while a special welcome is reserved for those who are the household of our Christian faith and for pilgrims. As soon as the arrival of a guest is announced, the superior and members of the community should hurry to offer a welcome with warm-hearted courtesy. First of all, they should pray together so as to seal their encounter in  the peace of Christ. Prayer should come first and then the kiss of peace, so to evade any delusions which the devil may contrive."
              
 ~ Book of Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, Shane Claiborne

Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the stories of hospitilality that I read on the travel blogs I frequent. My fellow bloggers who have backpacked across the terrains of distant shores are welcomed with open arms into the homes of strangers. Oftentimes, those who welcome them into their homes have very little material belongings themselves and it is truly a sacrifice to invite their foreign guests into their humble abodes, sharing the little resources they have. Yet, they do it with joy and see it as an honor, offering them the choice portions of food and even in some cases shelter for a night or two.

It seems that, at least here where I live in New England, if a stranger knocks on one's door for help or provisions, they are more likely to be met with a response of having the door remain closed and locked while the police are hastily called! There are some very valid reasons for people to distrust those that come knocking at their doors unannounced. For sure, there are criminals out there ready to take advantage of the gullible and unsuspecting, ready to spread their malice and darkness in an already dark world.

The fact is, most of us don't have backpackers from distant lands wandering through our neighborhoods. But we certainly see strangers among us that are in need of help, of charity, of hope. They are on our streets holding signs, huddled under bridges, lined up outside soup kitchens. Sometimes they are even our own neighbors, those we avoid getting to know, that have needs, that have broken homes and broken lives and so desperately need the light and love of Christ to shatter the chains that bind them to misery.

Perhaps we aren't always given the opportunity to be hospitable in the form of welcoming foreign travellers into our homes, but just as important, we are called to welcome the strangers that dwell among us into our hearts and respond towards them with love, compassion and hospitality. God's love is infinite and unconditional and as we conform more and more into the likeness of Jesus, our capacity of compassion increases, and the Spirit provides us with the confidence to break out of our comfort zones and live out the attributes of Christ. Compassion and love are not just abstract terms, but they are indeed verbs, action words to be lived out, not just believed in or discussed.

Whenever I think of serving others I am reminded of these verses in Matthew, which many of you will recognize. These are the very verses that Benedict of Nursia is referring to in the above passage and they relate to us very clearly who we serve when we serve strangers. :

Matthew 25:34-40

 ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Whatever material blessings we have are not our own, but God's. Through Him and in Him we are given all things. Gifts are meant to be passed on. We are blessed so that we may bless others in return. When God allows us to bless those among us through the blessings He's given us it brings glory to Him and shines light into the hearts of others.

 Am I shining the light of hope and love that God has planted within my heart through the workings of His Spirit to others? Am I serving the strangers that I encounter in my life? Am I walking like Jesus did...with mindful compassion and empathy? Are you?  

I confess that these are questions and reflections I haven't had in my Christian walk until recently.  Many churches, including some of the ones I've gone to in the past, seem to hardly address this aspect of our faith, of the necessity to actively serve others.  I find this strange considering the emphasis that Scripture puts towards conforming ourselves into the image of Christ. Jesus was the purest example of a servant. Mark 10:45 describes Jesus' role this way: ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  

It took reading the gospels again, with a renewed Spirit, to have the eyes of my heart truly opened and inspired by these truths. I am not walking perfectly in them yet, but pray to live them out more and more as I grow in Christ. I think we all have precious gifts that we can share with others, the strangers among us and those familiar and intimate in our lives. May we all strive to do so.

Any thoughts? Comments? I would love to hear them! Please leave them in the comments section. Thank you :)

Remembering The Dream

Martin Luther King Jr. had a message of hope and a vision of love that he unabashedly shared with those of his time and that continues to carry on long after his tragic and untimely death. In these modern times when the media tends to focus on bringing to our attention individuals of unsavory character who represent the radical fringe of Christian fundamentalism that fuel hate and intolerance and inflame the fears and aggressions of ignorance, it's more important than ever to reflect back on the critical message MLK jr. shared with us all.  

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who has inspired countless many to go out into the sometimes hostile world and sow seeds of peace, understanding and justice. He was a bold man with a bold message. A message that was able to shake up America's culture and bring foreward change. His words continue to stir hearts and challenge people to take greater steps towards loving more like Christ and keeping the spirit of servitude and compassion that Jesus taught us alive. May we remember him today.

In honor of Dr. King, this post will simply include one of his most famous and inspiring speeches, "I Have a Dream".

I hope you find yourself inspired! :)

I Have a Dream

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.


I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [Applause]


Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.


But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.


It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.


It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.


But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.


We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.


And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.


Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.


I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.


I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."


I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.


I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.


I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


I have a dream today.                   


I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.


I have a dream today.


I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.


This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.


This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

Positive Glimpses of Humanity

With negative headlines like "Westboro Church to Picket Funeral of Nine-Year-Old Tuscon Victim"...let's take a look

....at the recent positive displays of humanity which can give us all hope.....

"From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife."   http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3365.aspx

This is a beautiful gesture of love!...Love should transcend religious and political boundaries...and in th...is instance it does!

"About 70 asylum seekers at an immigration detention centre in Darwin have offered to donate funds to Queensland's flood victims.
 The Immigration Department says the detainees will donate from the little funds they brought with them by boat."     
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/world-view/episode/136557/Asylum-detainees-chip-in-for-flood-victims 

People with hardly any earthly belongings, give freely all they have to others who have lost everything. A beautiful display of humanity.



There are groups all over the country, and the world...making their communities a better place. This is a garden designed and landscaped in the inner city of Philidelphia by Shane Claiborne's group, The Simple Way. Everyday, Claiborne and his intentional community help make the dim and graffiti filled streets of one of America's most violent urban jungles a little brighter, a little more filled with hope.

They give reasons for the youth in their community to lift their hands in praise...and in hope....

http://www.thesimpleway.org/

Let's not get bogged down and "taken" by the negative news of the media. There's so much good being done in this world. Random acts of kindness, giving us all hope that humanity and good can prevail.

Is the world violent? Yep. Is it dark? Yep. But we can help it be that much more brighter when we shine the love and light of Christ boldly into our neighborhoods, communities, and into the world.

Heavenly Father,

We thank You for this day. Help us find ways we can serve You by serving your children. Help us transcend differences- religious, racial, political, socio-economic...whatever they might be, and find the unity among those around us to make a difference, for Your great Glory. 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, it is now, and forever will be.

Amen.

Let's Be Laborers (Includes quotes from Shane Claiborne/Mother Teresa)

I remember hearing about an old comic strip back in the days of St. Ed's. Two guys are talking to eachother, and one of them says he has a question for God. He wants to ask why God allows all of this poverty and war and suffering to exist in the world. And his friend asks, " Well, why don't you ask?". The fellow shakes his head and says that he is scared. When his friend asks why, he mutters, "I'm scared God will ask me the same question." Over and over, when I ask God how all these injustices are allowed to exist in the world, I can feel the Spirit whisper to me, "You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet."    ~ Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, p. 64-65

When I read that passage from Shane Claiborne I was instantly reminded of Luke:2 where it says:

² He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.





Are you a laborer for God? Do you help spread His light and love throughout your home, throughout your community, perhaps even throughout the world? Lifting up those that you are able to lift up? Encouraging? Helping to build the Kingdom right here on earth? Or do you grumble instead at the injustices that surround you...the pain, the suffering? Instead of lifting up your spade to turn over the earth and plant seeds of Spirit, you watch others, or perhaps don't even watch at all, consumed in your own existence and not concerned about the broader picture?

I have to admit, I've been less of a laborer and more of a bench warmer. But I've felt God stirring my heart considerably lately, and books like Shane's as well as through prayer and just reading through the Bible, have led me to acknowledge that if I am to have a genuine faith, things have got to change.

I'd encourage us all to pray for the Spirit to direct us towards new ways of serving God and helping work against the suffering and pain in this world. Let's become laborers for Christ. Let's lift up our hoes and rakes and turn over the soils of injustice and sow seeds that will bear great fruit for His Kingdom. Let's walk the walk of faith and approach this world with love and compassion and interest like Christ did. He went among the most marginalized and came with healing and love.

Sometimes it doesn't seem like my current circumstances allow me to serve God effectively and that can be discouraging. I don't feel like I have the money, the means, the way to go out and do the things I'd like to do to help others. But to do nothing is the goal of the enemy and the lie that because of our circumstances, whether they be circumstances of limited time, limited income or limited ability, that we can't labor for God and help others, is nothing but a false illusion. Sometimes, even from a little, a lot can spring up and be born. Look at the mustard seed...one of the smallest seeds out there...when watered and nourished and allowed to grow, it grows to a tremendous size.

Some encouraging and inspiring words from Mother Teresa about this quandary some of us find ourselves in:

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.

So even if you aren't at the point where you can go out and volunteer, engaging yourself in the ministries that seem to draw you to them, you can still start laboring for God right now. There's no better time then the present moment.

Let's be laborers!

Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for your son Jesus, who you sent to us to become a living example of purity, of compassion, of love. Without Jesus, there would be no redemption, there would be no hope. Thank you for your great mercy and love for our Savior.

May the Spirit usher us forward to a new understanding of what it means to serve you. May you draw us closer inward as we express the character of Christ more and more outward. May we get off our spiritual benches which have collected dust, and pick up our spades, rakes and hoes which have become rusty and get back in the field and labor for you. May we help turn pain into healing, suffering into relief, despair into hope. May our lives glorify you while we bring your message of redemption and hope into this dark and fallen world. We praise you, we glorify you and we seek you always with humble hearts always lifted towards your throne. Direct us in ways we can serve you and give us the ways and means so that we can bear fruit for your Kingdom.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen