At church this morning, the title of the pastor’s message was “Could
God Be Calling Me?” The pastor was saying that there are people in this
town with needs: children who went to bed hungry because they are poor
or their parents are fighting, and elderly people who have to choose
between their medication and buying groceries. He said that we need to
share with them the message that God cares—-not tomorrow, or next week,
but today. After all, their problems will not necessarily wait until
tomorrow or next week! The pastor also said that God disrupts our
routine.
Well, I came home from church today, and I pretty much did what I do
every Sunday, according to my routine: I read a book while watching ABC This Week.
I wouldn’t be surprised if others at church also followed their usual
routine, though they may have gotten home a little later because of the
church’s meeting after the service.
I understand the importance of messages like what my pastor preached
this morning. They are calls to action. But what hinders me from
action? Part of it is not really knowing my neighbors. Part of it is
not wanting to get too entangled with their problems. And part of it is
not wanting to preach to them, since that can be annoying.
But there are some things I believe in doing. I believe in food
pantries so that food is available to people. My church has this. I
also believe in helping people wisely. I remember hearing progressive
evangelical Tony Campolo preach, and he talked about a group in the
inner city that goes door-to-door and asks people if there is anything
in their lives that those in the group can pray about. That shows
people that there are caring people in the world. Also, it is good to
have a community that is trying to help people. I as a free agent may
not know how to address a certain problem, but others in the community
with more savvy and wisdom may be able to help.
I don’t feel a need to go out into my town and meddle in people’s
lives. But I also don’t want to go to the other extreme of reflecting
this cold society, where people do not care about each other and are
primarily concerned about their own problems.
I doubt that people’s lives this morning were disrupted by God. But
perhaps they were encouraged to keep doing the good work that they are
doing, and maybe to do so more.