June 2011

COMPASSION in ACTION

The Gospel of Matthew says that giving a cup of water to the thirsty is doing the work of God, part of loving one another.

Sometimes I think we make things too complicated and miss seeing where we are to act in our own daily lives.

Ann Weems who is a minister in the PCUSA [Presbyterian Church of the United States of America] is a poet whose work is often used in worship. These two samples from her reflect on two areas which touch our lives and actions. Those suffering pain and loss, and I think of those who had deaths in their families. Especially this week, The Rev Maui Tourangi who was the Cook Island congregation minister here, as he mourns the death of his wife, Mama Tere

Also as I watched the young people pour through the Centre last week to the Counties Manukau Youth Transition display put on from MIT, many with anxious parents dropping them off, we do need to be reminded that no matter what age we are, we all need to take time to listen to each other and to pray for one another.

COLD WATER, HOT COFFEE
Sometimes that cup of cold water,
turns out to be a cup of hot coffee,
and what we're asked to do is
to pour it….and to listen.

Sometimes we Christians
In our enthusiasms
think we were asked
to save the world,
when what we were asked to do
Is to go into it
and tell God's story
to people in need of
some good news.

Anxious activists forget
that just listening is an act
of compassion.
Driven disciples forget
that just listening is an act
of faithfulness.
Guilty givers forget
that just listening is an act
of stewardship.

Since we church people
have a tendency to be
driven and anxious and guilt ridden,
perhaps we should
read the directions again
and pour a cup of hot coffee
and listen
in God's name.

MORNING STAR
There are those times when
all the stars are torn from our skies
and morning will not come.
We try to make our way
In unlit passages,
frightened, desperate and despairing
We cannot see.
for wherever we turn
the night continues,
And yet , it is
into this impenetrable night
that the Child is born.
Tearing through the seams of darkness.
the Morning Star appears
in our eyes and in our hearts.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen
a great Light.


Poems © Ann Barr Weems Searching for Shalom, 1991 John Knox Press.

May God bless you with listening ears and compassionate hearts.

Rev. Margaret Anne Low