Monday, December 31, 2001
Feed My Sheep
Psalm 137:1-4a
This is the last day of the year. We face
uncharted territory, as we stand on the threshold of this brand
new year. Having realized some of our hopes and dreams over the
past year, the present is a comfortable place. The unknown is
a bit unsettling. We would love to stay here. But the spirit
calls us to venture with God into new experiences and venues.
The Israelites lamented by the Sea of Babylon, "Weeping,
we set beside the rivers of Babylon thinking of Jerusalem. We
have put away our lyres, hanging them upon the branches of the
willow trees, for how can we sing?" (Psalm 137: 1-4a) Like
the Israelites, we recall how God was present with us on the
other side of the river. But how can we sing the songs of Zion
in Babylon?
I neared the busy intersection of New Jersey and New York Avenues
in northwest Washington. As usual, I could feel the tension mounting,
because it was here that the hungry, the homeless, the dispossessed,
crowded around cars stopped at the red light.
A young woman from this intersection haunted me daily. She pleaded
with drivers to roll down their windows and hear her plea. At
times, in anger, she would throw her sparse belongings to drivers
who refused to roll down their windows. At other times, she communicated
her frustrations by making faces and displaying behavior too
embarrassing to mention. It was easy to write her off by simply
saying, "she was unstable." Somehow, I always managed
to stop a few cars out of her reach.
This day it was different! There were few cars approaching the
intersection, and I found myself stopping within her reach. "I'm
Tonya, " she said, with the biggest and brightest smile
imaginable. Looking into her eyes, I asked, "Tonya, do you
live around here?" She pointed to a near by apartment building
now used as a shelter for the homeless, and said, "That's
where I live." I gave her the bills and received a warm
and grateful thank you. Tonya, who only days before I had sought
to avoid, now sent me on my way renewed. This beautiful young
lady greeted me, a child of God focused and confident, sharing
her warmth and displaying a zest for life. She danced like a
graceful gazelle.
I was too afraid to risk a close encounter with this child of
God. I feared I could not meet her need and would simply add
to her string of disappointments. But this encounter with Tonya
touched me so deeply, tears rushed to my eyes. I felt I had been
drawn by her openness into a holy and hallowed place. She blessed
me with the reminder that God knows us and calls us each by name.
And that even when circumstances leave us without a place to
call home. You are still within God's keeping.
Jesus came into a world of darkness and brought the light. Jesus
is still beside us on this very last day of the year. Jesus knows
our every weakness and is with us to offer the strength we need.
To all who live in the darkness of despair and poverty, Jesus
brings light! To the marginalized and rejected, Jesus brings
light! To all who suffer abuse or violence, Jesus brings light
and will guide you to safety. To all who live burdened with doubt,
you need not fear the future. The future is in God's hands. Your
light has come!
Prayer:
Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm
truth everywhere; open my heart and let me prepare love with
Thy children thus to share. Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready
my God thy will to see, Open my heart, Illumine me, Spirit divine.
Amen.
Mary Council-Austin
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