We all know
that the economy has been hit hard in Toledo. But there is a city to our north
where things are even worse. I like to listen to Public Radio. And the Michigan
Public radio station around here has news all day, when our Toledo station
switches to classical music from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m. each day. So when I’m
running around town in my car I tend to listen to Michigan public radio. I get
lots of national news but I get a fair amount of Michigan news too. I hear
plenty about the awful state of things in Michigan and in the Motor City. The
population drop in Detroit has been crazy. When we drive up there to see a ball
game or to go to a show it sometimes feels like we have entered a city in a war
zone.
The city is
bankrupt. I guess it has been a long time since they had any money for their
city parks. So I was fascinated when I heard about these guys this week. (slide
1) They are called “The Mower Gang.” Basically, they get together and go mow
the city parks – free of charge. (slide 2)
It all started when Tom Nardone
realized that when the city closed a park they did not really close a park,
they just stopped mowing it. (slide 3) He said there are a lot of kids in Detroit
and someone had snatched away all the play places for them. They could not get
to the swings but as soon as these guys mowed they could swing again. He said
he saw a need that needed to be addressed. He was looking for volunteer work.
This doesn’t seem like work to him; it’s fun. He said, “It’s sort of like a
biker gang but with lawn mowers.” (slide 4)
So let’s
think about this. You have a city in deep economic depression. Big problems.
This week, the former mayor got sent to prison for his mishandling of funds.
But some guys just buy some lawn mowers and make a difference.
I love this story!
They didn’t
go to city council and ask permission. They didn’t ask for a grant. They didn’t
even write a vision statement. They just did something. And the kids are better
off because they did. It’s not elegant. But it works.
You see, when
Jesus was getting started with God’s mission to change the world, the disciples
were getting a little nervous. They thought they were not equipped. They
thought they really did not have what it takes to get the job done. I mean,
come on! A bunch of fishermen and a former tax collector!
So they came
to Jesus and said: “Please master, give us more faith.” They knew that they were immature in their
faith. They knew that they needed to be spiritual giants if they were going to
lead this mission. Perhaps they knew that Jesus would not be around forever. If
they were going to be the rabbis who would lead this movement, they needed to
have more faith.
But Jesus
said, “Don’t worry about it! You don’t need more faith. He took a look around
and said, if you have faith of the tiniest seed in the garden, you could uproot
a huge tree and throw it into the lake.”
Then he told
a little story about how when a servant comes home you just expect the servant
to do his job. 7-10 “Suppose
one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the
sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’?
Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and
wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and
have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s
expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected
of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do,
we did.’”
And that is
what Jesus expects of them – to do their job. No big deal. Just be faithful.
Jesus is
saying – use the gifts you have. Work with the faith you have and it will be
enough.
So what does this mean for us?
It
means that we pay attention to the ways that even
the simplest things, done in faith, can have a huge impact. It means that we CAN change the world
when we live as followers of Jesus.
Perhaps you don’t think you are a very
strong Christian. You look at someone else who has been at this a long time.
You think: I will never be like him. Jesus is saying: don’t make comparisons.
Just be who you are.
Our friend Z supervises the cleaning
staff at a local hospital. Z tells the staff that their job is really
important. They don’t always feel important because they are “just
housekeepers.” But keeping disease out of a hospital is really important. I
wonder if any of them see their work as holy work.
Not every one of us will be the leader
of a great movement of change like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But millions of
people took part in the movement to help move along the cause for fair
treatment for people of all races. I am sure that people felt they did not have
a strong enough faith to march in those marches and face the opposition, but
they did it. And they made a difference. And Dr. King alone could not have done
that.
Some of us are working now on an effort
to get legal protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons
from losing their jobs. Last night we made phone calls and asked people to call
their Senator and ask him to vote for ENDA. One phone call does not seem like
it will make a big difference, but hundreds of phone calls and hundreds of
letters and tens of thousands of post cards and visits to his office all put
together as part of a strategy have proven to change hearts and minds. I do this work because my faith calls me to
do justice in the world and to work on behalf of those who are oppressed by
unjust laws. Jesus spoke up for the poor and the oppressed over and over again.
Here at The Village we have a value to change the world by working for justice.
You do things every day, out of your
faith, to change the world. When you act out of patience toward someone at
work, when you might prefer just to tell them off, you are living your faith.
When you are generous with your time
and money and give to help some cause, you are living out your faith. And so
you choose not to hold on to the resources that God has blessed you with.
Rather, you are giving some of them back to help others who are in need.
We do ordinary things every day and
when we do we are living our faith. Things like this:
· doing our work
· caring for those in
need
- protecting the vulnerable
- reaching out to the lonely
- befriending the friendless
- keeping the world going
- contributing to the common good
Jesus’ message to us today is this.
Don’t worry that your faith is not strong enough. Don’t worry that you are not
a good enough Christian. Just look at what you are already doing. If you want
to do something more, like the guys in Detroit, it does not have to be
complicated. Make it fun. Get on a lawn mower and just mow some parks. Make a
difference!
Your faith might feel like it’s only as
big as the tiniest seed in the garden but you have the faith to take a big old
tree and throw it into the lake! When we work together we can change the world.
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