DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY

   It would be wonderful if we naturally and automatically fulfilled the commands of Matthew 25, namely, that we are always prepared to use whatever gifts and talents with which God has blessed us to the very best of our ability to see and seek and serve Jesus in everyone we meet, especially the last and least and lost, all of whom are our brothers and sisters in Jesus.

   But we do not. In fact, I suspect one of the reasons why Jesus told those parables of the ten bridesmaids, the talents and the last judgment was to remind us of what we are to be about because we are not naturally about such. Naturally we are much more about self-serving, seeing our own wants and needs, seeking ways to fulfill them. Thus, when we encounter someone in need, we do not automatically respond to that need. Sometimes we even look the other way.

   We come out of the womb rather selfish. For nine moths we have had all our wants and needs care for immediately, unasked. When we came to live life outside this safety net, nothing really changed. Our innate desire to have those wants and needs taken care of still remained. We did not automatically or naturally think that 2:00 in the morning was an ungodly hour to wake our parents. All we thought about was that we were hungry or wet or whatever and we wanted mom and dad to get on it pronto.

   Over the years as we grew older and wiser, we became a little less self-centered, but not by much. Even so-called mature adults can easily become whiny when their wants and needs are neglected, overlooked or considered not that important especially by those closest to them.

   That is not to say that we do not fulfill the demands and commands of Matthew 25. We do; but we do not do so automatically or because doing so is a natural response that comes from deep within us. We do so because of, well, because of “all that jazz”, because we have been doing so together. We’ve been practicing our faith together, supporting one another, helping one another be prepared to live out our faith even at 2:00 in the morning. Even at that time of night, it is not easy, but it does come almost naturally.

   Barbara Brown Taylor (in Christian Century, 7/26/2005) quotes Chuck Campbell’s story of 5,000 French villagers who sheltered 5,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Practicing courage, they became courageous. Practicing hospitality, they became hospitable. Practicing hope, they became hopeful, until such virtues became second nature to them. When asked what allowed them to resist the Reich so heroically, the villagers in question shrugged their shoulders. Sure, they were churchgoers. Sure, they counted on their pastor for support, but heroes? They were just doing what came naturally. Practicing Christ, they had become Christian.

   This is the time of year when we reflect upon our many and abundant blessings of time, talent and treasure and, doing what comes almost naturally, give thanks to God for them by offering some of these gifts of God for the life and ministry of our church. It is how we naturally practice our faith, individually and together.