Once upon a time, many years ago there was a good pastor who served a flock in a town a mile or so on the other side of the woods at the end of a well-worn path he had walked for years.
Also in the wood there lived a group of people who had some different customs and ways, little money and no land to speak of. History and fate had not been kind to them and the good pastor's wife had put together a small package of needed items for them.
She asked the good pastor, "Will you go by the new path that goes by the settlement and take these gifts to those in need?" "I would love to help" he replied, "but my pack is full of things for my congregation and the new path takes me out of the way." And off he went.
Entering the town he joined with his fellow friends and members of his church community. They handled their business and talked about the poor folks that lived on the new path, and what a shame it was that their community was in such need. Then they bowed their heads and prayed for them.
The End?
Our pastors today have a choice of paths as well. They are busy. They have a full pack of things to do— overflowing at times. They find it much easier to keep everyone happy, following familiar patterns, than to forge a radical attachment to a nearby need. They stay on the same path and pray, as we all do, for neighbors in need, but as James writes in Chapter 2, "faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead."
In our work at UNITE INDY, we are developing a city-wide volunteer network. It will join all those who love God with the needs of our city and with businesses that encourage philanthropy (because not everyone is churched, but everyone can help.) We find the most difficulty in connecting with—you guessed it—churches. They have their time-worn priorities and while they care about our urban situation, they really don't want to change the way they do things. They pray, but hesitate to take a new path.
This is the story of the entire First World today. We focus on our own needs. We want the security of sameness. But those great people who stepped onto the new path—the Mother Theresas, the William Wiberforces, the Martin Luther King Jr.s, were so powerful because they blatantly took a new path. What if we all took a new path? Could history be changed? Could we at least change this city? Could we say "yes" when we are offered a free method of connecting all those who care?
We are being called to Nineveh. Like Jonah, we are asked to spread the love and care of Jesus to our neighbors. Let our answer be "Yes, Lord, yes."
Blessings,
Nancy
