“Out of My Hands” (02/28/2024)

Yesterday, I posted my scripture reflection and my daily blog. Then I did what I always do, check the website to see if they are up. The link with photo appeared for each, but neither would open to reveal the actual content of the posts. I tried re-posting. I tried multiple things before I realized that it was not my error but rather a problem at the site that would need to be resolved by the site provider. It was out of my hands.   

I sat at my desk, drumming up the resolve to do something about the situation. Reaching a live person at the site provider is just a hair easier than hitting the moon with a slingshot and pebble. And then, before I could fully develop my plan of action, the site provider “woke up,” realized their error and corrected it. My posts appeared. And I drew a deep breath of relief.

But not everything in this world that is “not right” and at the same time not because of us is quickly resolved or even addressed by those responsible. And we have decisions to make. What can we do about it? What will we do about it? I think of women’s right to vote in the US. It wasn’t resolved quickly nor by a single person. But it was eventually resolved because of those willing to work for change and because of perseverance.

There is a great deal in our world that needs to be addressed. We didn’t cause most of it directly, but to just step aside and utter to ourselves, “It’s out of my hands” is really not an option for a disciple of Christ. As I think about it this morning, I wonder, how could the world be different if all who follow Christ stood together and worked together to right the wrongs of this world? I wonder, how could the world be different if all who follow Christ found our voices and together raised them for justice for all our sisters and brothers?

My mind flies to the memory of my father who taught me that “I can’t do everything” is no excuse for doing nothing. I think of his sadness at the racism he witnessed and its impact on the lives of good people. He couldn’t do everything, but he did do something. He enrolled a woman who wanted to be a nurse in school, paid her tuition, altered her work hours so she could study and still earn money for her family, and enlisted his own children to help her as her tutors. He couldn’t do everything, but he refused to do nothing. And the “something” he did changed the life of a woman, her family, and her community.

I think of the two women I know who weekly work for the local food pantry, giving of their time and energies to ensure that there is food for those who need it. What if there were 22 in our community that did that? What difference could 102 make?

I look around me frequently and realize that opining about the changes in the world since I was just a lass do no good. While progress is good, moral digression is not. There is much that we used to be as a country of faith-filled people that we need to recover. We didn’t personally break the system, but to do nothing and claim as our excuse that it is out of our hands would be an error unworthy of disciples of Christ.

Today’s gospel from Matthew 20 reminds us that we are to be servants of one another. We are to work out of the love of our LORD and of all our LORD’s daughters and sons. We can’t do everything, but we can’t settle for doing nothing. Pick something and do it for love of the LORD and love of another. If every one of us did that daily, one thing for another, how could we change the world – even that part that seems out of our hands?

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.