As I have begun nearing the end of this 30 days of prayerfully eating on a dollar a day - with 3 wonderful feast days thrown in along the way - the image that came to mind was one of crossing the finish line of a race - soon it will be done. Or will it? We still have a long way to go if we are going to reach out goal of having 1000 people donate $50 in support of this fast.You can help with that by donating - we still have a long way to go if we are going to reach out goal of having 1000 people donate $50 so that we can fund life- changing work in the Philippines. Some of you have given more than $50 - thank you! Some of you have given $50 - thank you! Some of you have given what you could - thank you! And some of you could not give, but you have supported me with your interest and your prayers. Thank you! You see, one of the key principles of Together in Hope is that we are all in this together. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. So we are all called to do our part - whatever that is. It's not that we all have to do a lot or even the same thing - we just have to do what we can - if we all do what we can, we can end poverty. I believe that!
I believe that God is big enough to enable us to end poverty."Impossible!" you say? Yes, it is impossible - in our own strength - but I serve a God who raised Jesus from the dead - the same Jesus who taught his disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...." I don't think those were idle words. I believe Jesus meant that we were to pray that prayer seriously, with not only the expectation that it would happen, but also the understanding that God would use us to do it. We still have lots of work to do to get the job done. That is why I think "the finish line" is probably the wrong image - we are just getting started; in fact, I am not sure that I have even left the starting block. I'd like to be finished; to be able to check this one off my list, but we are not done.
As a Christian, the words of Jesus have a lot of authority for me. Jesus had a lot to say about poverty and our part in addressing it. So did the Hebrew prophets in what Christians call the Old Testament. In fact, Jesus did not just talk about poverty and the poor, he became one of the poor. When he touched them, he did not just heal their spirits, he healed their bodies and restored their lives to wholeness in body, mind and spirit. He also addressed the wholeness of entire systems and communities - that is about justice. If we are going to end poverty, we are going to have to do the same.
Why is it that the President of the World Bank, who has declared that ending poverty is not only possible, but that it is a moral imperative, is leading this challenge instead of the church? Do you know how many Christians there are in the world? And then when you add people of other faiths who also understand that we have a moral imperative to end poverty, the numbers are endless - if we all lived into that imperative, we would get the job done. So why aren't we?
I hope I don't check this off my list when this is done - "Did that, great experience, now back to my life as it was - I crossed the finish line and I'm done." I pray that I don't do that. Oh, I will eat more and I am looking forward to it. In fact, I will eat and enjoy meals with many of you who are my dear friends and family. But, I hope that this experience has touched me at a deep enough level that the poor will be present with me even as I "feast" at every meal. (Believe me, after eating rice and beans for 30 days, I can assure that every meal that we eat is a feast in taste, quantity and nutritional value! ) I pray that it will cause me to live differently in the world, even if just a little, so that others too can feast at God's table of plenty - in body, mind and spirit.
You all probably know the story of the little boy and the starfish. One day a man was walking on the beach where thousands of starfish had been stranded. He saw a young boy picking up one starfish at a time and throwing it back into the ocean. When he asked the little boy what he was doing, the boy said simply that he was throwing the starfish back. The man said, "Son, there are thousands of starfish on the beach, what difference could you possible make?" To which the little boy replied, "Well, it makes a difference to this one!"
I would add to that story, this line, "And sir, if you helped me go into town and round up some volunteers, together, we could make a difference for all of them!"
Together, working in hope, we can make a difference for all of them - won't you join me?
You can donate here: http://togetherinhope.org/Corporate_Sponsorship.html
I believe that God is big enough to enable us to end poverty."Impossible!" you say? Yes, it is impossible - in our own strength - but I serve a God who raised Jesus from the dead - the same Jesus who taught his disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...." I don't think those were idle words. I believe Jesus meant that we were to pray that prayer seriously, with not only the expectation that it would happen, but also the understanding that God would use us to do it. We still have lots of work to do to get the job done. That is why I think "the finish line" is probably the wrong image - we are just getting started; in fact, I am not sure that I have even left the starting block. I'd like to be finished; to be able to check this one off my list, but we are not done.
As a Christian, the words of Jesus have a lot of authority for me. Jesus had a lot to say about poverty and our part in addressing it. So did the Hebrew prophets in what Christians call the Old Testament. In fact, Jesus did not just talk about poverty and the poor, he became one of the poor. When he touched them, he did not just heal their spirits, he healed their bodies and restored their lives to wholeness in body, mind and spirit. He also addressed the wholeness of entire systems and communities - that is about justice. If we are going to end poverty, we are going to have to do the same.
Why is it that the President of the World Bank, who has declared that ending poverty is not only possible, but that it is a moral imperative, is leading this challenge instead of the church? Do you know how many Christians there are in the world? And then when you add people of other faiths who also understand that we have a moral imperative to end poverty, the numbers are endless - if we all lived into that imperative, we would get the job done. So why aren't we?
I hope I don't check this off my list when this is done - "Did that, great experience, now back to my life as it was - I crossed the finish line and I'm done." I pray that I don't do that. Oh, I will eat more and I am looking forward to it. In fact, I will eat and enjoy meals with many of you who are my dear friends and family. But, I hope that this experience has touched me at a deep enough level that the poor will be present with me even as I "feast" at every meal. (Believe me, after eating rice and beans for 30 days, I can assure that every meal that we eat is a feast in taste, quantity and nutritional value! ) I pray that it will cause me to live differently in the world, even if just a little, so that others too can feast at God's table of plenty - in body, mind and spirit.
You all probably know the story of the little boy and the starfish. One day a man was walking on the beach where thousands of starfish had been stranded. He saw a young boy picking up one starfish at a time and throwing it back into the ocean. When he asked the little boy what he was doing, the boy said simply that he was throwing the starfish back. The man said, "Son, there are thousands of starfish on the beach, what difference could you possible make?" To which the little boy replied, "Well, it makes a difference to this one!"
I would add to that story, this line, "And sir, if you helped me go into town and round up some volunteers, together, we could make a difference for all of them!"
Together, working in hope, we can make a difference for all of them - won't you join me?
You can donate here: http://togetherinhope.org/Corporate_Sponsorship.html
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