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 of stopping, give the
injured man emergency medical aid, and transported him to a nearby 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 40
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 several hundred
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 will 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.
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These
thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage
some personal growth for you this year at CPC.
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