Angels Among Us

A few months ago I was invited to a young boys birthday party, he was going to turn 7 years old and instead of birthday gifts for himself he wanted to make sure everyone had a place to call home.

No there is not a typo.  I seven (7) year old boy expressed a very prophetic heart longing to house people in need, and it was not the first time!  John Ross has been making this type of requests from his 4th birthday.

• For his 4th birthday he collected bedding and food for homeless children and their adults;
• His 5th birthday it was toys for a family of 9 who lost everything in a fire;
• His 6th birthday his family and church community collected 328 toys and additional cash donations for the children at Arnold Palmer Hospital.  Not realizing he himself would be admitted for testing; 
• In April 2012 he raised over $2,400 for the Epilepsy Association of Central Florida; and 
• For his 7th birthday his family and church community did a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County, Inc. because he say, "everybody needs a home".  John Ross raised $3,315.30 that will go to fulfilling Habitat's vision of "A world where everyone has a decent place to live."

On the Pentecost Sunday Jesus greats his disciples with "Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" (Jn 20:21-22 NIV)  Meeting John Ross I have been intimately reminded of my identity in Christ.  I was baptized as an infant receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit, claimed into the family of God, and anointed priest, prophet, and king.  Seems I spent many of my 50+ years forgetting and deaf to the working of the Holy Spirit within me.

"People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them.  When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'" (Lk 18:15-16 NIV)  "And he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 18:3 NIV)  I believe John Ross in his innocence can clearly hear the voice of the Spirit within and he willingly shares what he hears.

My still deeper appreciation of this experience is little prophet has captured the hearts and imagination of his parents and his church community.  What seems to be no big deal to John Ross, who is just obediently following the whispers of his heart, in a eye opener for the adults of his community, North Merritt Island United Methodist Church.  "Each year these events keep getting bigger and bigger," was the mantra repeated by several of the adult participants who were willingly sharing their gifts to bring John Ross' vision to reality.

I have been called to rediscover the innocent child within myself, by John Ross.  The child that remains open enough to hear the whispers of the Spirit that has always lived within me, and I pray that I may respond obediently to the call as innocently as my new friend John Ross.

Happy Birthday to an Angel Among Us.

My Core Identity

While attending a seminar this weekend on Social Justice, the initial question was asked, "Who Am I?"  How it was introduced made me think.

Imagine yourself at a party and someone walks up to you and begins a conversation.  In the course of that conversation introductions occur.  How would you introduce yourself?  Think about it for a moment ... how would you introduce yourself?

Most of us would start with our name.  The rest of the information we share about ourselves depends on a number of factors.  Am I in a safe environment (trusting who I am with)?  Is the party attached to personal friends, family, work, spouse's work, church event, or in public with a mix of acquaintances/strangers?  Taking all of this into account the things that came to my mind first were: titles held, work related stuff.  When getting comfortable with the conversation things like family related info, church ministries, and other leisure activities start to come out.  Yet these things and relationships are NOT my "core identity".  They are important as they have formed me in the way I see the world around me and influences the way I respond to it.  These traits can also enslave me or lure me away from recognizing/embracing my "core identity".

My "core identity" is Christian.  What does that mean?  It means that I acknowledge that I am a created being.  "God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them." (Gn 1:27 NAB)  I am created by God, for God.  "...thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel:  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine." (Is 43:1 NAB)  My parents had me baptized shortly after birth.  "Joseph, you have become a new creation, and clothed yourself in Christ" (Baptismal Rite) "So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us." (2Cor 5:20)  So I'm committed and consecrated to a God who promised, "...I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jer 31:33, Ez 37:27, 2Cor 6:16, Heb 8:10)

My "core identity" thus demands of me to be what God has created and sanctified me to be, "LOVE".  To be His ambassador/disciple I must love all my brothers and sisters created by God, be the image of mercy, compassion, invitation, peace, forgiveness, hope, and presence.  What a tall order, thank God I believe in a loving God who approaches us first and calls us back each time we fall short of living our "core identity".

Different Shirts, Same Calling

I've managed to a mass several different polo shirts with different logos on them over the last 10 years.  Each of them represent a calling from God.

Upon retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2001 the first polo collected was for Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County, Inc.  I'd been a volunteer for the organization for 4 years and once retired I was asked to join the team as a construction site supervisor.  Little did I know what God had planned for me at Habitat.

After a couple years of conflict and desolation within my faith life in 2004 I attended a Christ Renews His Parish retreat and got a wake up call to action.  The calling which I had been putting off for career and family became very clear.  The call to the permanent diaconate.  Still a call to serve community but the shirt sports a cross and stole of a servant.  A servant to my church community and a servant of the community at large.

Last night I returned from Baltimore were I was oriented as a Catholic Relief Services, Global Fellow.  It was a moving experience to hear what CRS is doing globally to work "with" partners to assist the poorest of the poor in the world.

What energizes me for these ministries/callings is that I am not doing things "for" people I am doing things "with" people, on a church level, a local community service agency, and a global community service agency.

We are all connected, we are of the one human family, created by God, we ALL make up the one body of Christ.  We've been created, all of us and everything around us.  All we are asked to do is love one another as the Father has loved us -- locally, nationally, and globally.  The scary thing about this concept is it means we are all connected: what one person does - affects another person; what one nation does - affects another nation; what one country does - affects another country.

The Gospel of Matthew story of the Judgment of Nations (Mt 26:31-45) makes our choice and consequences of our choice clear.  Ask yourself these questions: "Lord when did we see you hungry..., thirsty... naked..., ill..., or in prison?  Did you take care of His needs to the best of your ability?

We are created in the image and likeness of God, therefore every human being bears a resemblance of Jesus himself.  Wherever their is human need, we see Jesus in need -- "...whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." (Mt 26:40)