Tom's Good News

Feeding Jesus

It was hot and humid at the Westhaven orphanage in a remote area of Jamaica. We all interacted with the children, but I spent most of my time remodeling their facilities. Christy did the more important task of feeding and caring for the residents.

At the end of one day she shared with me her difficult challenge of feeding a young adult male that was an invalid and couldn’t eat solid food or feed himself. She did it at first imagining herself as Jesus caring for a beloved child of God. As she was feeding him that slowly changed as she realized that it wasn’t Jesus feeding this young man, she was feeding Jesus. “I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

These orphans became Jesus for us. Jesus was the crippled and deformed children in wheelchairs. Jesus was the mentally handicapped children that couldn’t talk or communicate. Jesus was the emotionally disturbed children screaming in frustration and anger one moment and singing for joy the next.

We didn’t need to bring Jesus, he was already there. They loved on us the first minute we walked in, and wanted to go home with us when we left. I didn’t feed Jesus, but Jesus held my hand and hugged me tightly.

Imagine a world where everyone was loved and cared for as we would love and care for Jesus himself. We then would honor and respect one another without thought of our differences and disagreements. Our world seems to be filled with fear and contention right now, and we can change that with our attitudes and actions. It is not about us, it is about us together.

I would invite us to join Christy feeding Jesus. We don’t have to go to Jamaica, but we can. Jesus is right here.

I will see you in church. Remember, God loves us more than we can ever imagine, and I love you too!

Tom

Look Up, Look Out, and Step Up!

One of the Webster Christmas traditions is to go see a movie as a family. This year we chose “Rogue One”, a Star Wars film that is a prequel of the original Star Wars movie that came out in 1977. I enjoyed the show as I have been a Star Wars fan from its beginning.

I will try not to spoil the movie for those who have not yet seen it, but essentially it was about a time of great conflict in the universe. The struggle of good against evil was being fought on a cosmic scale. In that time, a group of unlikely heroes, banded together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

A key turn in the plot came when the rebel, Saw, asked the heroin how she can stand not doing something about the injustices of the Empire. She replied, “I just don’t look up.” Yet she finally did look up and doing so she inspired others to look up as well, and together they accomplished the mission.

They made a difference and fulfilled their mission because they looked up, looked out, and stepped up with sacrifice and service. As I thought about the film, I realized that we too make a difference if we look up, look out, and step out with sacrifice and service. And joining together with others we make even more difference.

We look up when we turn to God for purpose and meaning. We look up when we turn to God for understanding and direction. We look up when we invite God to help us see ourselves, others, and our world as God sees them and us.

We look out when we use God’s guidance to look for how we can best make a difference. We look out when we see others as beloved children of God, the same as us. We look out when we use that knowledge to discover how we can reach out to others with God’s love.

We step up when we put our faith into action. We step up when we put God’s mission first in our life and begin serving God. We step up when we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for a greater purpose.

We can join God’s mission of peace and love, and I pray we will. God’s force will be with us. Remember, God loves us more than we can ever imagine, and I love you too!

Tom