WHEN GOD WALKS WITH US

Last week I write about my recent visit to Cuba and my plans to return in October (you are welcome to join me). I spoke of the enjoyment of the experience and mentioned a few of the places we visited.

I could expand on the sites and people. There is much that could be said about the economic condition of the island nation just 90 miles from the United States. The pros and cons of the U.S. embargo could easily provide fodder for a long political discussion. I could compare and contrast the economies and governments of the two countries.

Instead, I want to share something which spoke to me about poverty and wealth and transcends the understanding of these two particular cultures.

On Sunday morning group leaders on the ship provided worship experiences for both Protestants and Catholics. Although attendance was voluntary, I am glad that I went. While Father Damien celebrated mass with the Catholics on board the ship, Rev. Bob Brown, one of the Protestant ministers, led a worship service in which we were introduced to a new song.

Cuando el Pobre (When the Poor Ones) is a Latin American hymn from 1971 written by J. A. Olivar and Miguel Manzano.  The English translation is by George Lockwood.

The hymn is a meditation on Matthew 25: 31-46, the parable of the great judgment, focusing on verses 34-36: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (NIV).

The United Methodist Hymnal editor Carlton Young notes: “The central teaching (of the hymn) is the classic liberation motif that God in Christ is seen and experienced in the plight of the rejected of society: the homeless, the poor, and the parentless. In life’s journey, we are closer to God when we love them and share from our abundance of food, clothing, and shelter. Those who choose the alternative—greed, hate, and war—will ‘go away into eternal punishment’” (Matthew 25:46a).

CUANDO EL POBRE (UMH #434)

When the poor ones who have nothing share with strangers,

When the thirsty water give unto us all,

When the crippled in their weakness strengthen others,

[Refrain]

Then we know that God still goes that road with us,

Then we know that God still goes that road with us.

When at last all those who suffer find their comfort,

When they hope though even hope seems hopelessness,

When we love though hate at times seems all around us,

[Refrain]

Then we know that God still goes that road with us,

Then we know that God still goes that road with us.

When our joy fills up our cup to overflowing,

When our lips can speak no words other than true,

When we know that love for simple things is better,

[Refrain]

Then we know that God still goes that road with us,

Then we know that God still goes that road with us.

When our homes are filled with goodness in abundance,

When we learn how to make peace instead of war,

When each stranger that we meet is called a neighbor,

[Refrain]

Then we know that God still goes that road with us,

Then we know that God still goes that road with us.

 
Jamie Jenkins

 

NUMBERS AND NAMES

A census worker knocked on the door. A woman answered the door and the census worker introduced himself and asked: “How many people live in this place?” The woman replied, “Well, there’s James, and Sylvia, and Monique, and Devon.” The census worker interrupted and said, “I don’t need the names all I want to know is the number of people who live here.” The woman at the door replied, “Nobody here has a number. Everyone here has a name.”

Have you ever felt like you were “just a number?” That you really didn’t matter?

There are many ways to make people feel like they are “just a number.” To relegate persons to the margins. Treat folks like outcasts. Unimportant. Unwanted.

Bureaucratic structures have a way of pushing people to the side. To exhibit the belief that the process is more important than people. Society has a way of prizing some while devaluing others.

A popular television series several years ago tapped into the feeling that many have of being “somebody,” being known and valued.

The theme song* struck a chord with millions who understood that “Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.” They knew that “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same. You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.”

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was assured that God knew him even before he was conceived and that his Maker had plans for him before he was born (Jeremiah 1:5). God reminded Jacob that he was a special creation whose name was known by the Creator (Isaiah 43:1).

In the perfect world everybody has value. Nobody is a number. Everybody has a name. Since our world is not perfect  we must be diligent in caring for one another and to make sure that no one is disregarded or treated disrespectfully.

The Master Teacher, Jesus, taught us the worth of every individual. He said that even the smallest sparrow was valuable. The Creator, who took notice of even those little birds paid attention to the most minute detail of each human being (Matthew 10:29-31). In the Gospels, He regularly reminds us of the significance of those whom we call the “least” and the “outcast.” There are no “little” people with God. No one is “lost in the crowd.”  Every individual human being is precious to God.

Therefore, we are our commissioned to love and serve all people. Those who are prosperous and those who live in poverty. The well and the sick. Those who are on the top of the world and those who are crushed by the weight on their shoulders. The “up and comers” and those who are ” down and out.”

My wife says her mother made every one of her ten children feel like they were her favorite. She had a away of loving each one of them as if there was only one of them. I think God is like that. And we should be too.

Jamie Jenkins

*Where Everybody Knows Your Name Lyrics by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo

 

 

 

 

 

THERE ARE SOME THINGS MONEY CAN’T BUY

It was another reminder that no matter how much money you throw at something you are not guaranteed success.

Fox Sports paid $500M to televise  Major League Basebal games including the World Series.In spite of this big outlay of money and the latest technology, Fox faced “a stark and embarrassing broadcast bungle” during the first game of the World Series last week.  Daniel Roberts wrote in Fortune Magazine: “At 9:18 p.m. Eastern Time, with a 1-1 score in the fourth inning, the telecast picture vanished: no visuals, no audio.”

$500M and still they were greatly embarrassed. The network quickly posted a sign on screen that they were experiencing “Technical Difficulty.” Both Fox’s primary and backup generators were hit with a “rare electronics failure,” causing the loss of power and the 4 minute blackout that followed.

Jordi Alemany, Director General at Solar Rocket in Valencia, Spain, reminds us that, “Money has been with us for more than ten thousand years. It has become a vital element in our lives, to the point where without money, you can literally die.”

In other words, we have come to the place that we think money is the answer to everything- career, marriage, family, winning sports team, and almost anything else. If you have enough money, you can have what you want. Or so it seems.

The World Series reminds us that money cannot even guarantee a championship baseball team. It is interesting to note that this year’s combined salaries of the two teams in the World Series- the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals- is less than half of the combined salaries of the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, neither of which made it to the World Series ($492M vs. $214M).

The first hit record for the Motown record label was a song written by Berry Gordon and Janie Bradford. Barrett Strong sang “Money (That’s what I Want)” in 1959. The song was later recorded by many artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Doors. In 1960 the song was listed as #288 on Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

The lyrics of that hit song recognizes that “money don’t get everything it’s true” but it goes on to claim that “what it don’t get, I can’t use.” Several years later John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a song that the Beatles recorded which asserted “I don’t care too much for money. Money can’t buy me love.”

There are many things that money can provide but the really important things in life do not have price tags. Health, love, happiness, integrity, peace of mind, intelligence, spiritual enlightenment, self-worth, security, an honest opinion, time, trust- just to mention a few.

Someone has suggested that it is good to have money and the things that money can buy but it is good to check up once in a while to be sure you have not lost the things that money can’t buy.

Jamie Jenkins

What is your list of things that money can’t buy?