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, when 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 and stopped,
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 particular 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 help us fill
this "giving gap." One is the annual Central 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 Central 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 Central auditorium. We bus
40-45 students 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 lasting gift.
A totally different Central Church practice is the
"Midnight Run." Each month or so, Central 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 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 Central 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 Central's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal spiritual growth
this year at Central Church.
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