Serving In A Broken World

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (NLT) Matthew 9:35-36

Last Saturday morning when I arrived around 8am for the Family Food Ministry, already the crowds had gathered outside of McComas Hall. Moms with their children sitting with them, grandparents with their grandchildren, elderly folks walking in with their canes, a young couple with their newborn daughter, a young man just a few weeks after coming home from a treatment center, another young man with special needs and people that looked like your neighbors and others who don't live in your neighborhood. They all came because of hurts and needs in their lives.

We live in a broken world. Spouses are abused, alcohol and mental illness can cause havoc in people and their families. Injury and illnesses cause disabilities, economic downturns cause businesses to close and lay off employees, homelessness happens, poor choices are made, violence hurts, and society, people and even I failed to love the least of these like Jesus did.

As I walked throughout the crowds of people on Saturday, I began to meet some of these people. I heard their stories, I saw the look in their eyes, it was painful. A mom with two young boys, who was worried about her boys being boys, and as I talked with them and her, I was able to bring a few moments of peace and hope in their lives.

Around McComas Hall I saw folks from BAUMC mixed in with people we had served in the past, now serving our guests, showing compassion. A young man, who had been in the homeless shelter and spent many days in our homeless hospitality room, came to serve with some of his co-workers. Yes, he has a job, a home and wants to give back. I met a woman who was serving, who had been touched by our Pass It On ministry and because she was shown compassion, now is showing compassion to others.

As we filled their trunks with cans of food, apples and potatoes, frozen meats and breads, our hearts were filled with compassion. We are seeking to share the Good News of the Kingdom with each of them.

We live in a broken world that Jesus loves. Jesus' body was broken so that everyone can return to the One who made them. We want to be faithful and the prophet Isaiah challenges us with these words...

What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once...If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness... You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build a new... You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. [Isaiah 58:6-12 MSG]

Won't you make your life a mission, not an intermission!

Barry