Dear Caldwell,
The trip from Sunday to Sunday already seems a bit rushed this week, after having had the Labor Day holiday off. It’s been a day of saying, “Oh, yeah, it’s not Monday.”
Nonetheless, this week offers our usual mix of opportunities for restoration and reflection in the eyes of God – Yoga tonight at 6:30, Theology on Tap at 7 at LeRoy Fox restaurant, contemplative prayer and meditation time in the Prayer Room Wednesday from 4-6, La Casita Bible Study and Zumba Friday at 9:30 a.m. in Belk Hall. Take a look at your fall routines and see if you can add any of these practices to enrich your spiritual life.
A memorable recent study by the ACE Class considered the idea of “enough-ism.” What does it mean to have enough and how can we shape our lives so that we have enough, but not too much, that others might have enough, also? That is a hard question for all of us. The idea of the simple, non-material life is a Reformed ideal we can all salute – in theory. But it gets harder when we think about our personal lives and possessions and the life that many of us want to provide for our families. What can we truly live without in an effort to build the kingdom of God on earth? One person’s idea of “enough” may not be the next person’s.
As you read in an email you should have received last week – and as you heard in church on Sunday – Caldwell is hosting a powerful Poverty Simulation conducted by our friends from Crisis Assistance Ministry on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon. Caldwell does so much for those in need. Truly. We may also think that we don’t really need this experience because we read about poverty in Charlotte. This, however, is unlike any other event or ministry we host. For three hours or so, we will literally take up the walk of the poor. It is an excellent opportunity to come face to face with what “enough” really is in Charlotte – to have enough to eat, pay the rent, get to work, clothe the family, cover medical costs and those inevitable surprises that seem to happen every month.
For many of us, having “enough” is a calculation of whether we can afford to do all that we want to do in a given month. For the poor, having “enough” involves painful, every-day trade-offs to try to cover the costs of living even the most basic existence, with the real threat of hunger or homelessness never far off. I encourage you to come and walk in the shoes of our neighbors who make these trade-offs by clicking here to register for this simulation. You won’t regret it and, whatever calendar trade-off you may find necessary to attend may well seem not that important after the experience.
This is not just a matter of social awareness or sensitivity, or even of gaining respect for those courageous and dignified neighbors who make enough work, as important as those outcomes may be. No, this is bedrock to our faith. Our faith is incomplete until we have truly seen through the eyes of the poor. Mother Teresa, who gave her life to serving the least among us, reminds us that, “We should not serve the poor like they were Jesus. We should serve the poor because they are Jesus.”
Please call Yvette Wilson or me with any questions. We will think more about this in worship Sunday, about how we can draw closer to Christ by drawing closer to those Jesus called “the least” among us.
In Christ,
John