Yesterday I took my son and we hung out for awhile at Third Place in Turley. Deb invited me and Ron graciously allowed me to skulk around, interrogating the volunteers about how they do things. Toward the end of my visit, Ron was talking about a study OU was doing with 3rd Place and other charitable agencies around Tulsa to try and measure whether the these charities, in addition to providing food, clothing, and other physical resources, also play a part increasing a persons "hope" after receiving services from them.
DO WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
It is an important question. Does siding with the poor, standing up for injustice, refusing to conform my life to the world around me provide hope and make a difference? The resounding answer is YES! By siding with the poor, I am obeying Christ. When I scream against evil and cry for justice, I am obeying God. When I try to give back to God everything that He has bestowed upon me~love, family, money, patience, kindness, goodness, forgiveness, grace and mercy~by serving everyone around me, my hope of an eternity in heaven with my Saviour increases exponentially!!!
Wait. What? Oh, perhaps I misunderstood the question. Does it change the government? Does it help to eradicate poverty? No. I guess not. But God never asked me to do either of those things. Jesus never even suggested we eradicate slavery. God is above our governments, He is above our politics. He is above and beyond our times and our places. He knows what was important...the only thing that is ever important...love. Love that heals pain, fills tummy's and draws us closer to Him until the day when we can be with Him.
Providing a meal isn't supposed to be a building block out of poverty. Assuming first that there is something wrong with being poor, which of course there isn't. Christ never condemned the poor, He warned the wealthy. But my goal, the goal of Catholic Workers has never been to move someone from poverty into the shining middle class of America, it is to share the love we have from God and with that love comes an eternal hope for everyone.
And with that said, please join me tomorrow in fasting and prayer:
I can see how one unselfish act can lead others to hope. Kind of like a lighthouse on a stormy night at sea. A beacon of hope that things could be different for all to see. And at least that might give others the motivation to educate themselves about the issues at hand and how it effects them and society as a whole. One small spark of fire can burn down a whole forest, so I don't think it is pointless what Bob did. It may be, practically pointless, but it does raise awareness and give some hope that not all people have completely profit driven agendas. Hope is a beacon and whatever can shine the light on the truth is a good thing. I applaud what Bob did, and just hope his action helped people realize what we are doing to God's beautiful earth.
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