As a progressive Christian, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to a loving God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace!
Volunteers are a very special breed.
They’re not afraid to step in when they see the need.
They’re always willing to lend a hand,
To lift someone up who’s sinking in quicksand.
They always have something encouraging to say,
And they manage to say it in the kindest way.
They share their skills, talents and time.
And in return, they don’t ask for a dime.
So the next time you meet with some volunteers,
Shake their hands, and let them know you’re happy they’re here.
(Anonymous)
We are all on a journey – a spiritual journey – and it’s so nice to know we are not alone. I have a card given to me that says, “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” I like the idea of being on a journey, of continuously becoming.
Many times we live with the idea of arriving. We see the journey as a way to get to a destination (a means to an end), rather than seeing the value of the journey itself. When I go on a vacation, it’s more about the journey than the destination; sometimes I like to get in the car, or get on a train when I lived in Europe, and see where the journey will take me. There are always wonderful adventures along the way, and I meet the most amazing people on the journey; unexpected blessings. Arrival at any given destination, most times, is secondary to the journey.
This could also be a metaphor for the spiritual life. I might say, “I’ve arrived spiritually, emotionally, mentally,” which implies “I know enough” or “I’ve grown enough,” “I’ve arrived.” But the result is, I can become rigid and defensive, and dig in my heels because arrival means I have a lot to protect and defend … I mean, if I’ve arrived, I have it all figured out. Right?
But “becoming” is a continual journey of never arriving, always growing; being set free to journey deeper into new expressions of the love of God; always recognizing that there is more in my personal experience of God, and that I will continue to discover new and bigger dimensions of God outside of my box, because, God is always bigger than my box.
This was the passion that the early followers of Jesus had. Their spiritual journey, their connection with the teachings of Jesus, their relationship with Jesus caused them to step out of the box of conventional religion. In Christ, they were becoming more than the box could hold.
The earliest Jesus communities lived by the inclusive love of Jesus; a love that embodied greater equality, and dignified the worth of everyone. Perhaps, this is what motivated Paul to write in his letter to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male nor female; for all of you are one in Jesus Christ.”
Those three categories (Jew-Greek; slave-free; male-female) were the three great distinctions and boundary lines of worth in Jesus’ time. Paul, motivated by the Christ who lived within him, put an eraser to those distinctions and lines. What distinctions and boundary lines are prevalent in our time? What is God asking you to put an eraser to?
The congregation that Paul ministered to had people from all the classic divisions of culture; men, women, slave, free, Jew and Gentile. And Paul says a wonderful thing; that they were all “members of one another.” Paul was calling for a new kind of community.
In a culture that separated people, Christ united people. To live in this Christ community was to leave behind the old cultural and religious boxes and burst out of them in love-connections with each other.
Paul looked at his congregation and didn’t see distinctions; he saw a more level playing field of people, with each one of them having been given special gifts and abilities; and then he called them to put those gifts to work, to be empowered, to empower each other and to empower the life of the faith community. It wasn’t about serving self or ego, but about serving others and the community. This is how they grew; grew in faith and grew in numbers.
There’s a story about a church blood drive, and they were asking for volunteers to help. One day there was a conversation with two volunteers where one helper insisted that she had no gifts. Her self-image was that there was nothing particularly special or unique about her. Her friend decided to observe what she was doing at the blood drive that day. She was helping get people ready to have their blood drawn. He noticed that many people had a certain amount of anxiety, especially those giving blood for the first time. He also noticed her incredible ability to calm and assure people, especially those with lots of anxiety; to make them feel comfortable and give them a sense of peace and calm.
As he observed her, he thought to himself, “No gifts, huh?” Later that day, he shared with her what he had observed. She said, “I am only doing what comes natural.” “Yes, exactly,” he said, “and what an incredible gift it is to the rest of us here today.”
Paul also told his congregants not to think of themselves more highly than they ought to but with “sober judgment.” He meant it as a challenge to relate to others not with a sense of inferiority like “I have no gifts” or with a sense of superiority like “My gift is better than yours.” It was a challenge by the Apostle Paul to name the gifts we see in each other and then use our gifts to empower others and the community.
Sometimes we are blinded to the beauty and unique miracle of the person right next to us. We are also blinded to our own unique gifts that when shared, deeply fulfill us and satisfy us. Just think of the difference it would make to a faith community, if we intentionally and deliberately lived with that kind of “sober judgment” and identified the gifts we see in each other; lifted them up; named them; celebrated them and encouraged each other to use them to a greater extent to strengthen the community.
This is a call and a challenge for us to live a different way; a selfless way that affirms others, that elevates community to a higher priority and value, and uses our gifts for the sake of others and the building of community.
Like snowflakes, you’ve been uniquely gifted. There’s not another person like you with your gift-mix. Don’t under-estimate the power your gift can have on others and this community.
