We all know that person that nobody really cares about – and if you don’t, good for you! I have, unfortunately, known too many people like this in my life; in people I have known and, in my work – they seem to exist, thankfully, in small numbers. For some of them, it is pretty clear why people steer clear of them; they are mean-spirited or greedy or selfish – generally, they are narcissists. For others, it’s hard to understand how they got to that place where they are alone. I have visited them in nursing homes at the request of the staff – they tell me that nobody has ever been there to see them. You might see them listed in a news report, asking for a relative or friend to come identify the body of a John or Jane Doe who is, as of yet, unidentified. That doesn’t mean they are a bad person, it only means – to me – that something went very wrong at some point in their life.
I keep going back to the scene in “A Christmas Carol” when Scrooge sees his funeral and realizes that nobody cares that he is dead. All they want is his assets. His partner Jacob Marley came to warn him about the chains he was forging as he lived a despicable and lonely life. Or think of George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” when the angel Clarence writes to him, “Remember, no one is a failure who has friends.” Greatness isn’t about achievement or wealth or power – it is more about who you are and how you treat others. Rich or poor, it doesn’t matter; greatness is defined by how we love the unlovable – how we treat our neighbors – how we care for the poor and the stranger. Jesus gave us some pretty clear guidelines, and we keep mucking it up with our own self-centeredness.
At the end of chapter 13 in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he wrote, “So, faith, hope, love; abide, these three – but the greatest of these is love.” That entire chapter is spent telling all of us that we can be the strongest, smartest, holiest – the best at whatever – but if our lives lack love, we are nothing. Not less than – nothing! Straight A student? Billionaire? Gold medalist? That’s nice – I appreciate your hard work and talent. But if we die alone, estranged from all the people who matter, leaving a legacy of nothing – we are nothing! The message is clear to me – we have time now to achieve greatness, but someday, we won’t. Every day is a blessing, not because we have stuff or achieve goals, but because we love and are loved. It’s not too late – go out and be great. Share love.
Prayer – Holy God, could it be that our being created in Your image is that we are able to share love the way You do? If so, thank You! Amen.
Today’s art is a mural in Dunolly, Australia, called “Welcoming the Stranger” by an artist names Biin. This mural is a fantastic recreation of the iconic 1869 photograph “Unearthing the Welcome Stranger”.