Folks in my congregation know that my favorite chapter in the entire Bible is Matthew 25. The first part is about being ready, the second part is about using what you have well, and the last part is about caring for people in need as if they were Jesus. In other words – For God’s sake, do something! Be prepared for the call of God – use what you have now to make the world better – care for people because they are made in God’s image. Do something. Be ready to act when there is a need. If you are lucky enough to have money, use some of it to help people who don’t. If you see someone who is hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, a stranger, or in prison, help them – they might be Jesus. Stop wasting time, because time is short. Stop judging or blaming or finding excuses, because you might wait too long. For God’s sake – for your sake – for the sake of others – do something!
That doesn’t mean we should support unhealthy behavior; I wouldn’t give money to a drug addict, but I would help them – if they allowed me to – to find an avenue toward wellness. I would bet that every pastor has families/individuals who call for help on a regular basis – the chronically in need; I just had one of those calls yesterday. I will help, but I will also try to find out how we can move them towards some sort of self-reliance. But if someone comes to the door in the winter without a coat, we find them one. If someone is about to become homeless, we do our best to hold the wolves at bay. It may feel like we are spitting in the wind, but if we can keep a family from living in the streets for another month, that’s something. If we can provide school supplies for some poor kid, that’s something too.
We have watched humanity destroy the environment for over 100 years, yet we are still arguing over what to do. We have been experiencing increasing affordable housing shortages for decades, but we have allowed greed and inertia to get in the way of fixing the problem. Too many of our political leaders don’t have the backbone to step over party lines and make things work – and Rome burns. The waters are rising everywhere around the world, and we are still listening to people who don’t believe that the earth’s climate is warming. Babies are screaming from hunger, and we are putting in noise-cancelling earphones. And the words of Scrooge continue to guide our policies: Let them die and decrease the surplus population. I guess doing nothing, or doing the wrong thing, is still doing something.
We can’t change the world on our own, but we can change someone’s world for a little while. Together, we can move mountains, but we don’t have to wait for everyone to agree to do something. There are people (like your local congregation) doing something everywhere we look, and we all need help. If you have some time on your hands, find something that matters to you and help. For God’s sake – for your sake – for the sake of others – do something. Change the world, one person at a time.
Prayer – You, O God, have given each of us gifts to make a difference – give us the courage to do something. Amen.
Today’s art is “Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt, 1669.