The Kindness of Strangers

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extraordinary, gratitude, Inspiring America, kindness, neighborly, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We finally had our first real snow yesterday. By that I mean that there was an accumulation of about six inches and we had to shovel our driveway in order to go anywhere by car. It was beautiful as it arrived – the kind that makes a person look out the window humming “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…” even if snow isn’t in your top ten weather events. It only lasted until about noon and the reverie was over then too because the temperature was hovering around 32F. degrees. That made the snow very heavy to remove!

Two of us were shoving and splashing away – one at each end of what seemed a longer driveway than I remembered (because it was really too slushy for a snowblower or any mechanical device that we own) when the most astounding thing happened! An unfamiliar car slowed as it was nearing me close to the road. I was just about to step out of the way when a young man jumped out from the driver’s seat and his wife rolled down the window with a smile. He took my shovel and began throwing snow in the most methodical way about four times faster than my best effort. I went to the car and talked to his wife who said they were on their way home from shopping and agreed that he should stop and take over my job. We introduced ourselves and visited while he shoveled.

I turn to the NBC Nightly news most evenings on my iPad where I just look at the headlines and watch the segments that are truly informational- not sensational – and look for the last segment that is called “Inspiring America.” It’s always good news about an “ordinary” person who does something extraordinary just because of seeing a need. Some of the good deeds are astounding and some just good neighborly things to do to help. I would have liked to send a report to Lester Holt for a winter segment last night as our new friends provided just the kind of feeling that his news stories engender but they were gone in a flash taking only my gratitude and renewed sense of the kindness of strangers with them.

P.S. A shout-out to Betsy who had just arrived for a week-long retreat here. She – our much younger sister – had picked up a shovel as soon as she had said her hellos to the Sisters. As grateful as I was to her, I’m sure that she was also to our willing new neighbors. And a good time was had by all…

Greater Things

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do greater things, extraordinary things, farewell discourse, greater good, healer, Inspiring America, Jesus, John, Lectionary, Luke, miracles, NBC Nightly News, ordinary people, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is a line in John’s gospel, showing up in the lectionary readings for today, that I would wager most of us would claim as impossible to believe. Jesus is in the early stages of his “farewell discourse” and trying to impress upon those closest to him that they really will be able to carry on without him because he will remain close to them in Spirit. In JN 14:12 we hear the following promise: Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do and will do greater ones than these…

Let’s think about this for a moment…How could we even think of doing greater things than Jesus?! Well…take the fact that there are millions more people around now than in the time of Jesus. Most of them are within our reach because of air travel and the internet. These inventions have expanded communication far beyond what could have been possible in the first century of Christianity. And Jesus was a healer. Think of the advances of modern medicine that allow “the blind to see, the lame to walk…” and even new hearts – physical ones – can prolong a person’s life. Keep thinking and you may come up with something you are, or have been, a part of that could never have happened in the far distant past.

Jesus didn’t say, “You will be greater than I am.” What he said was: “You will do greater things than I do.” That allows us to dream big while still keeping our humility intact, always knowing that our abilities and talents ultimately come from God and not from us, but through us – with our consent and participation. The thing that redeems the Nightly News on NBC for me is the last segment that began on Monday nights but now seems to happen more frequently – maybe because we need it more – called Inspiring America. It tells the stories of ordinary people who are doing what began as simple things that have grown to extraordinary works – many of them coming from young people. Take for example the 7 year-old boy who asked his mother why someone was standing on the corner with a sign that said, “Will work for food.” When he heard that there are many poor, often hungry people in our country he started an organization of people his age that now feeds hundreds – maybe thousands of people. When asked if parents help in his organization, he says, “Of course. They help with our taxes and stuff. And they help with deliveries. We can’t drive: I’m only 14!”

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things cannot help but become extraordinary disciples. The one common element in almost all of these stories is relationship. First, of course, there is a recognition of a need that most often includes people in need. Next there is the sense that “I can’t do it alone” so (especially with children) there is the request for others to join in the effort. And then, miracles can happen. It’s like when Jesus wanted to feed the 5,000 people but said instead to his disciples, “You give them something to eat yourselves.” (LK 9:13) And so they did!