My church, as a member of the United Church of Christ, completed it’s part In Mission 1, a UCC coordinated effort to attack hunger in this country and around the world. I participated in several of the projects, namely by contributing canned food to our local soup pantry and by sending some money. But as I sit here in my CBTS, breathing in the view from the deck as I enjoy my soup and sandwich, I wonder if I am really feeding the poor. It is easy for me to buy a few cans of soup and write a little check. No sacrifice there.
But is sacrifice what God is asking of me? Maybe, but that’s another topic for another time. Right now I need to ask myself who the poor are. I’m hearing that I can feed the poor only if I can see myself as one of them, see that I am poor, too. Jesus tell us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and I am certainly that. Without God, I am a poor; at the very least, without God I am arrogant. Knowing I am poor in spirit keeps me humble.
That’s one train of thought-- the personal one. But what about doing for others—the social one? Who might be the poor that I can feed and how do I figure what the food might be? Well, prayer of course, that walking and talking with God, which these days often happens for me on the beach.
Recently a friend reminded me to keep asking: “What is God calling me to do?” At the moment I’m hearing God calling me to be in solitude as a necessary part of God’s call for me to pray for people; but I’m also hearing God calling me to go out and visit people who are poor, poor, that is in opportunities to be in community with others: the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, and those with few family or friends. There are plenty in my small church community for me to feed. But you don’t need to be connected to a church to obtain a list of folks who would love a visit. I wouldn’t be surprised if those of you reading this blog have a list, right in your mind, of people you could feed. An of course in doing so, we feed our poor spirit as well.
But is sacrifice what God is asking of me? Maybe, but that’s another topic for another time. Right now I need to ask myself who the poor are. I’m hearing that I can feed the poor only if I can see myself as one of them, see that I am poor, too. Jesus tell us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and I am certainly that. Without God, I am a poor; at the very least, without God I am arrogant. Knowing I am poor in spirit keeps me humble.
That’s one train of thought-- the personal one. But what about doing for others—the social one? Who might be the poor that I can feed and how do I figure what the food might be? Well, prayer of course, that walking and talking with God, which these days often happens for me on the beach.
Recently a friend reminded me to keep asking: “What is God calling me to do?” At the moment I’m hearing God calling me to be in solitude as a necessary part of God’s call for me to pray for people; but I’m also hearing God calling me to go out and visit people who are poor, poor, that is in opportunities to be in community with others: the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, and those with few family or friends. There are plenty in my small church community for me to feed. But you don’t need to be connected to a church to obtain a list of folks who would love a visit. I wouldn’t be surprised if those of you reading this blog have a list, right in your mind, of people you could feed. An of course in doing so, we feed our poor spirit as well.
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