"How can we eat our bread when we know there are others, far away, who are hungry? How can we drink our juice when we think of our brothers and sisters whose mouths are parched for lack of clean water? When Jesus first offered this meal to his disciples, it was to enlist them in the final suffering and victory: not to deny that bad things happen to good people, but to say that we share in everything we have, and everything that happens to us. We come to this table today to do exactly that - to remind ourselves that we are inextricably part of all the things and people of creation, of the seed and grade that grew into this meal, of the men and women and children who labor to rebuild their homes and their lives on the other side of the world. Let us not hold back, but join them. As you bless this meal, God, bless us too - make us a living meal, our substance and our attention in prayer poured out for your many children who are struggling this day. Hold us together in the invisible communion of the spirit."
The parts that I put in bold really spoke to me. This whole litany reminds me of the Caedmon's Call song "Share in the Blame":
Don’t blame your brother for the color of his skin
don’t blame your neighbor for the house he lives in
from the same cloth, we are made of, we are just the same
you gotta hold up the mirror and share in the blame
don’t blame your neighbor for the house he lives in
from the same cloth, we are made of, we are just the same
you gotta hold up the mirror and share in the blame
I want to be a part of something great and I want to do great things, but I don't know how. Either that or I feel like my efforts are all in vain because they "aren't enough". Today on CBS Sunday Morning (one of my favorite shows), there was a story about a girl who really took action. In the same 50 yard area, she saw a homeless man, and a man driving a luxury car. She said, "If that man didn't have such a nice car and had spent the money elsewhere, that homeless man may have something to eat and drink." This inspired her entire family. They sold their house (worth over a million dollars) and moved to a smaller house a few blocks away and donated all the excess money ($800,000) to a charity. They went to Africa and opened a corn mill for local women and their donation is aiding in the building of a medication facility.
I know that I don't have a million dollar house to sell, but I just want to know what I can do! I feel trapped because I don't know how to act...I literally do not know what actions I can take that will satiate my desire to "do".
Great and Loving God, what can I do to further your cause? How can I become more a part in the "invisible communion of the spirit"? Please direct me...please direct us all...
