|
From the Pastor&
I've enjoyed the following story for years. Some days, when my spiritual life seems dry, or a friendship sours, or work seems routine, I call to mind this African tale:
There is an old African folktale about a great chief who planned a banquet and invited several hundred villagers. All the villagers were eager to attend. But there was one stipulation: the chief would furnish all the food and entertainment, but each of those invited had to bring a jug of wine. It would be poured into one huge vat and then there would be plenty for all.
One villager did not
have any wine and was too miserly to buy a jug. There
must be a way to go without cost, he thought to
himself. Then he struck upon an idea: "With so
many others bringing wine to pour into the vat, no one
will notice if I just put water in my jug and pour it
in. With that great amount of wine, it will hardly be
noticed."
So on
the day of the festival, the villagers dressed in their finest
clothes and made their way to the tribal grounds.
As each villager arrived, they poured the contents of their
jars into the large container. All paid reverence to the chief and joined in the festivities. When the chief saw that everyone had arrived, he stopped the music and the dancing, gave words of welcome to all, and said that it was time for the first toast. The chief ordered all the glasses filled with wine from the vat. All raised their glasses to their lips and drank. But there was some thing strange about the wine. The puzzled chief drank again. He did not taste wine--but water! Each invited villager had had the same idea: each had decided that his jug of water would not spoil a huge cask of wine. They received what they gave.
The chief was angry beyond words and had his guards cast his guests from the village forever.
We get out of life what we put into it. And the same is true of our Christian lives. When we come to Mass on the Lord's Day, do we expect to be entertained, or do we bring the "wine" of our lives? What do we give God? Water or wine? Or, like the man in the story, are we misers? No one will notice that we just sit there; that we don't sing; that we daydream; that we wish we were some place else. Maybe no one notices, except God. What do I give to God each day of the week? My best or my left-over time?
There is a book by Rodney Stark (a sociologist) entitled The Rise of Christianity. He asks, how and why did the church grow so fast? In the first three hundred years, the church grew 40% a decade. How? Stark sums it up this way: early Christians (disciples of Jesus Christ) were more compassionate than others around them. They out-loved others. They out-served others.
The early Christians were full of good deeds and good news. If we are going to attract new members and the young, we have to be unselfish people. If we really become a church of service to others, than watch out! The problem with Christian communities, and the fact that many are shrinking and aging, is that many Christians are focused on self& and that is a contradiction of what it means to be a Christian (read Philippians 2:3-4).
If we, the Lord's disciples, keep quiet when a billion people live in absolute poverty... the stones will cry out.
If we, the Lord's disciples, don't do anything to improve the lives of children& the stones will cry out.
If we, the Lord's disciples, forget our elderly living alone or forgotten in nursing homes& the stones will cry out.
If we, the Lord's disciples, are more concerned about our investments than our spiritual lives& the stones will cry out.
As Bob Dylan sang, "Gotta serve somebody," so we Christians have to be people of service. To be faithful and alive to God means to be faithful and alive to those at the bottom of the social scale.
God is not dead! Jesus gave us our marching orders in the Beatitudes... a life of service to those least served in our world. Easter is about new life, a new way of living, a new way of serving.
"He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it." - Dante
"Scientists announced today that they have found a cure for apathy. However, they claim no one has shown the slightest bit of interest in it." - Comedian George Carlin
What can we do without being asked? Are the forgotten getting our water or our wine?
"Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens, we have to keep going back and beginning all
over again." - Andre Gide
Today, I am going to be of service to __________________.
Fr. Bill P.S. Use the servant's entrance if you want to get into heaven!
|
|
