Hardly a day goes by when I do not receive a couple of phone calls
and letters inviting me to donate some money to a worthy cause. Hardly a year
goes by without one of my kids or my house or my car also needing some financial
help. Sometimes the steady drumbeat of financial needs makes me wonder if
perhaps the only thing important about me is the money I have to give to others.
Most of us are familiar with the story Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan
(Luke 14:25-37). A Jewish man was riding through a mountainous, remote area
where he was robbed, beaten, and left in the road "half-dead." A Samaritan came
along the road. Samaritans and Jews were the bitterest of enemies. Yet when
the Samaritan saw the man in the road, he was moved with compassion. He braved
the danger by stopping, giving the injured man emergency medical aid, and
transporting him to an inn. He then paid the innkeeper and directed him to care
for the man until he had fully recuperated. That would have been a substantial
expense.
What was Jesus doing with this story? He was showing us what it means to
love your neighbor. Jesus shows us the Samaritan meeting the material, physical
and economic needs of the injured Jew ---- the Samaritan planned for the injured
man's recovery and paid all the related expenses. But, the Samaritan's time
with the injured man was brief --- he did not give much of himself, other
than his money.
I realize that this is exactly what most of my charity-giving requests are
asking of me. Would I please simply write a check, mail it and thus be done with
this charity ---- until next year? This is not enough to really satisfy me, and
perhaps you feel the same way. We each have more to give "our neighbor" than
just our money!
Three on-going activities at Central Church have helped us fill this
"giving gap." One is the CPC High School Mission Trip, where more than 25
teenagers and adults go for a week to live in some needy place, do some
construction repairs on houses and roofs, but most importantly develop
relationships with the destination hosts. These "hosts" are so different in
life experience from the CPC Mission trippers, that the latter must exit their
shells and give something of themselves (so, it is no longer just about
giving money). What can they give? For the children of the
hosts, who are seriously considering dropping out of school, or who have no real
plans for their lives, our Mission Trip teenagers encourage these host kids to
raise their sights ---- they help the kids define a vision for themselves that
could be more fulfilling and perhaps even more financially rewarding. But, will
only a week of contact and friendship really do this in a lasting way? We do
not know until we give it a good "college" try.
Now, consider the Elizabethport Tutorial Program which meets at Central
Church every Tuesday evening from October until March. On a typical Tuesday
night about 100 kids gather in the CPC auditorium. We bus 40-45 kids to Summit
from the Elizabethport Presbyterian Center, and they are joined by about 60
teenage tutors from local high schools. On-going relationships are developed
between student and tutor. The tutors find themselves encouraging their
students to apply themselves more fully, and for many students the encouragement
of the tutors has boosted student career goals and study habits. The tutors are
not giving "money" ---- they are giving something more priceless. They are
giving their own example as achievers, and showing the Elizabethport
students some of the things that are possible for them in the future.
This is a priceless gift.
A totally different Central Church practice is the "Midnight Run." Each
month or so, CPC Youth and accompanying adults, make a hundred or so sandwiches
and a supply of coffee or soup, and troop into places in New York City where
homeless folks are known to gather in the evenings. It may be under bridges or
in city parks. There they deliver their gift of food; but, more than that, they
talk with these "friends" whom they sometimes meet again on subsequent "Midnight
Runs." The great thing about this endeavor is that each side discovers they
are dealing with real people. Each shared story is different for both the CPC
participants and the homeless, but the encounter is not quickly forgotten.
Which do you think is worth more? The sandwiches and soup, or the cordial
human encounter?
Sure, not-for-profits will continue to ask for your money and mine ----
they must do so in order to keep going. But, ask yourself whether you have
something more to give "your neighbor" than merely your money.
_____________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development
Team, hoping to encourage some personal growth this year at
CPC.
_______________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment