Archive for the ‘Service’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Sacrifice

April 15, 2024

Arnold Schwarzenegger told of a time when he was Governor of California attending the funeral of a war hero. Also attending was the local State Senator, who spoke eloquently of the sacrifice of the young man for the greater good.

Following the service, Arnold spoke to the legislator. “We have an important piece of environmental legislation coming up for vote. We need your support.”

“I cannot vote to support the bill even though I think it’s right,” came the reply. “It would be political suicide.”

On the one side he praised the courage of a war hero; on the other side he intentionally rejected the courageous act of his own.

We can sit here in judgement of that legislator.

Or…

We can reflect on the story. Place ourselves in the protagonist role. When have we chosen not to do the right thing because we might suffer an embarrassment or hurt or loss of stature or job?

Pointing fingers at others does no good. Jumping on social media to berate another human does nothing but instigate hurt. Being convicted of our own shortcomings and vowing to change our life’s pattern toward doing the right thing—priceless. 

Posted in discernment, Disciplines, Service | Leave a Comment »

Heroism

February 19, 2024

Historian Heather Cox Richardson writing in her newsletter Letters from an American on January 14, 2024 had this to say about heroism:

When I was writing a book about the Wounded Knee Massacre, where heroism was pretty thin on the ground, I gave that a lot of thought. And I came to believe that heroism is neither being perfect, nor doing something spectacular. In fact, it’s just the opposite: it’s regular, flawed human beings choosing to put others before themselves, even at great cost, even if no one will ever know, even as they realize the walls might be closing in around them.

When I was but a lad we were given many stories from World War II about men who performed heroic deeds. Those stories resembled the insight that Richardson expresses.

Heroism is not limited to war. Stories about regarding people who have put others before their own health and welfare. The Jesus Movement grew exponentially in the early days of the Roman Empire when a plague struck the city. Officials and leading business men fled to the hills. Christians crept from their hiding places in order to minister to the health and souls of the stricken. The courage and selflessness of these Jesus-followers served as inspiration to a generation.

In our own times, we can look to Mother Theresa who served the poorest of the poor in India.

Or think of the many women you may know who give up time and energy to serve food and clothing to the poor and homeless of your city.

What can I do today to put others before me in service? And you?

Posted in Service | Leave a Comment »

The Knights of St. John in Rhodes, Greece

February 6, 2024

We toured Rhodes, an island in Greece just off the western shore of Turkey, on our recent vacation. The focus of the tour was a palace/fortress built by the Knights of St. John to protect the island from Ottoman invaders about 1,000 years ago.

We met our tour guide. As we entered the old city:

  • We heard a priest conducting Mass at a Greek Orthodox church;
  • Then walked along nearby synagogue;
  • Passing by a Roman Catholic church,
  • We heard the call to prayer by the local Imam to the Mosque

Noting these different religions, the guide noted, “We have learned to get along together.”

By the way, the St. John in the order’s name is John the Baptist. They were initially a healing order commissioned by the Pope during the first Crusades. They became a military order with soldiers and naval fleets. They still exist today in a different format.

Their healing practice is informative. They carefully screened incoming patients admitting those who would be amenable to their therapy. The assigned an assistant to each patient. The first therapy was sleep. They provided private rooms. At night, they induced opium smoke into the room to help with sleep. The assistant would stand outside the room and whisper positive affirmations through a small window. They would encourage the patients to get up and walk around during the day. Supposedly they had a 100% success rate of healing.

Speaking as someone with a number of health and fitness certifications, I don’t recommend the opium. However, rest, positive affirmations, and exercise as much as one is capable are excellent therapies for many ailments.

Posted in healing, Relationship, Service | Leave a Comment »

When Today Is Done

January 22, 2024

When you begin a day, preferably with reading and meditation, where do expect the day to end? How will you spend the next precious 15 hours? Where will your focus and attention take you?

I hope that you don’t have a calendar filled with what to do every 15-minute time block of the day. That is stifling. It fails to allow for thinking and serendipity.

I do hope for you and for me that we place our attention on what good we can do as we travel through the day. That we are aware of what surrounds us and meets us such that we can show kindness and service.

And when we perform our evening Examen we can say that today we have done some good for the world.

Posted in Awareness, focus, Service | Leave a Comment »

Service

January 4, 2024

If, instead of working on making more money, we spend some time each day contemplating how to serve others better and more creatively, everyone is richer for it.

Earl Nightingale

We can preach, cajole, persuade, argue, scream, and so forth as much as we want, but

  • Our kids will still misbehave
  • People will still think of us as obnoxious humans
  • People close to us will not become fellow disciples of Jesus

People watch who we are which speaks more loudly than our words. Just think if we all worked on serving others better. Building products that help rather than addict. Providing a smile and a meal or a coat. Providing a ride to the doctor. Buying a coffee for the person next in line.

Add your own thoughts. Then go and do.

Posted in Service | Leave a Comment »

Many Nice People

November 28, 2023

Need to know what’s going on in the world? It’s easy to know enough without immersing yourself in the news-media-advertising-complex.

As side benefit you stop noticing so much the bad side of people (like my post yesterday about people whose behavior belies their stated beliefs). 

This morning during meditation the number of good people I come across every day came into focus. We moved during Covid shutdown to a new city in a different state. We don’t know many people—even now. It’s not easy.

Several women I know volunteer at food banks and/or serve meals to those who need a good hot meal.

I had met a woman who at first glance looks like one of those girls you knew in high school who is pretty, knows it, and is a bit stand-offish. I recently had a chance to talk with her as she is one of the owners of the coffee house where I work once a week or so (writing, not making cappuccinos). Several people came through the shop who knew her and were happy to see her. She turned out to be nice to everyone.

There are people who reach out to those around who are hurting. Many people help out just with random acts of kindness, even small tokens like opening a door for someone or carrying a load.

None of these people rate headlines in the news-media-advertising-complex. But they form the backbone of the community or church or organization.

Be one of those. It is as good for your health as for those being served. And when you meet these people, say Thank You.

Posted in Doing, Service | Leave a Comment »

What would you pack?

November 14, 2023

Jon Swanson puts sticky ideas into my awareness. He asked once, If you were leaving to follow Jesus, what would you pack?

I have a small pile of things on my office floor. We are leaving for a hiking and relaxation trip to southern Ohio hills and forests. As I remember items that I should bring I grab them and stack them in the corner—small rucksack for water and snacks, week’s supply of medicines and supplements, beef jerky, toiletries.

I’m sure that Jesus looking upon this if I were to respond to his ever-present invitation to “Follow me” would smile and wonder how long it would take me to realize I was over-packing!

I would call it a thought experiment although I’ve been there:

It’s a meeting. A dozen, more or less, people are gathered in a room. The leader states the purpose of the meeting. “Jesus had a persistent invitation when he met people. He asked them to follow him. Now, what did he really mean? Did he really expect them to get up from their business place and move? I know that Matthew and Peter and Andrew and James and John all immediately left their businesses to literally follow him. But us?”

And they discussed the meaning of following Jesus for hours. Weeks. Sermons were preached. Classes were taught.

Did Jesus ask us to discuss following? Did he ask us to dissect the meaning of following?

I have this funny quirk when I study Jesus’s words. I think he meant what he said. I think he meant literally following.

We can find a way to serve others. And we should do it. We don’t need a committee meeting or group discussion. Jesus has a funny way of putting opportunities before us that we may not recognize at first. Just being kind and helpful is a start.

Posted in Service, Work | Leave a Comment »

Stop and Help

June 5, 2023

I visited the downtown of a local small town today. Walking toward a small business I noticed a string of paper napkins scattered along the front of the building extending into the street and curb landscaping.

Starting to walk past to enter the building to transact my business, I paused. To consider. I could leave it to someone else to pick up the paper. Or, I could simply bend over and start picking them up. I wound up with two handfuls of paper napkins to place into a trash receptacle located within five meters each way of the papers.

That took me almost three minutes.

And the bending over was good for my body.

And I could look at the street and feel better at the improvement.

When I went in the business, I mentioned the paper to someone inside. “Oh, yes, I noticed those,” said the person.

Hmm. How many times do we walk past something without stopping to help?

How many people passed by the beaten and robbed man on the road before the “Good Samaritan” stopped and helped?

Posted in Service | Leave a Comment »

Church (or organizational) Growth

May 3, 2023

According to the evidence at our disposal, the expansion of the churches was not organized, the product of a mission program; it simply happened. Further, the growth was not carefully thought through. Early Christian leaders did not engage in debates between rival “mission strategies.”

Alan Kreider

As one grows older and stays observant, recurring patterns of behavior occur. I took a “church growth” class in the late ’70s. I later knew several pastors with advanced degrees with that speciality. Same basic knowledge.

What I learned—it’s all about leadership, not so much knowledge.

Many businesses and churches have vision statements and mission statements. (Side note: I wonder why have both. Seems both redundant and confusing. Which are the people to follow?)

My studies over many years agree with Kreider’s. Many people joined the new first century movement because of the types of lives they saw among the believers. I’ve read histories of the plagues in Rome under emperors such as Marcus Aurelius where Christians came out of hiding (a dangerous thing) to serve the sick and dying in whatever way they could. These acts of selfless love also spurred tremendous growth of the movement.

I don’t think Jesus was confusing. Matthew says that just before he ascended, Jesus just left one mission statement—

GO into the entire world,

TEACH what he taught,

MAKE disciples (that is, followers who would presumably do this same thing),

LIVE knowing Jesus is still with them (us) guiding the way.

The question to us—are we content to sit in our little circle of friends or are we living an inviting life of service and joy?

Posted in Disciplines, Evangelism, Growth, Service | Leave a Comment »

Seek Justice and The Kingdom of God

February 20, 2023

I like to return to ancient sources for inspiration. Of course, I can also turn to more recent sources such as Dallas Willard, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, NT Wright, and so forth. It is refreshing to see the lineage from the earliest followers of Jesus.

In his Chapters on Prayer, Evagrius Ponticus, advises, “In your prayer seek only after justice and the kingdom of God, that is to say, after virtue and true spiritual knowledge. Then all else will be given to you besides.”

Then he adds, “It is a part of justice that you should pray not only for your own purification but also for that of every man. In doing this you will imitate the practice of the angels.”

Recognizing that his audience was monks of the 4th Century, we can see where his concerns were placed.

Think first of others.

Think then of drawing closer to God.

Then other things will come to you, as well.

Today we have many people thinking of others only in the sense of telling us, indeed ordering us, what to do and how to do it. The new Pharisees, I call them.

Then we have many teachers who quietly work with people to help and guide through life. Caring only about justice and service to others.

I suddenly thought of Jimmy Carter who is now in hospice care at 98. Called the best former President we’ve had, he sought not riches and glory after he left office. He worked for justice and service.

We (I) would do well to emulate that. It’s not about “likes” on social media that so many desire (probably hoping for the riches that came to the Kardashians). It’s about helping one person at a time outside the lights of publicity.

Posted in Justice, Prayer, Service | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »