Christianity 101

The follow excerpts are from a letter written by Jim Flickinger, U.S. Amazon Relief coordinator…

I was in the “Green Hell” area of the Amazon, visiting some of the poorest families on earth.  The area is home to many children from our schools.  Keeping me from getting lost in the maze of shacks was Wilhelme, a 17 year old boy who was a graduate of one of our schools.  Wilhelme had been abandoned by his parents at an early age.  He calls his grandparents’ small shack his home, for it is on the floor of their porch that he sleeps.

A few weeks prior to the visit, Wilhelme had been near death and hospitalized with severe malnutrition.

As Wilhelme walked with me, we came upon a street vendor selling a strange concoction — a boiled egg, surrounded by a sweet bread coating, that had been deep fried.  It was a well-designed product that could be held in the hand and eaten as a person walked down the street.

Wilhelme was hungry, and he asked if I would buy him one of these breaded eggs.  I agreed, and both Wilhelme and the street vendor smiled and thanked me as I passed the equivalent of 50 cents to the vendor for Wilhelme’s treat.

As we continued our walk, I watched Wilhelme nibble off pieces of the bread, and then pieces of the egg.  he was methodically and slowly enjoying every morsel.

As we continued along, an emaciated man was walking toward us.  He asked for nothing.  He was just passing by.

Then it happened.  Not a word was spoken, but Wilhelme reached out and offered the man the uneaten portion of his food.  Wilhelme saw a need, he saw someone who needed food more than he did — and he gave away all he had!

As I reflected on Wilhelme’s kindness, many Bible verses came to mind, but particularly Christ’s words about the Last Judgment when He will say, “I was hungry…and you gave me to eat.”  I couldn’t help but think:

Was it Jesus in the disguise of the man walking towards Wilhelme?

Or was it Jesus in the disguise of Wilhelme who was sharing the bread?

I thought, too, that there was much more than an exchange of bread happening here.  Compassion was being shown.  Wilhelme saw the hungry man, and through his simple outreach he let the man know that he was cared about.  The whole scene was 180 degrees different from the rich man who walked by the beggar Lazarus on his doorstep.

Wilhelme’s generosity in this story rocked me.  Especially because my friend Amy went to the Amazon with Jim a year or two ago and became very close with Wilhelme, so I’d already heard a lot about this sweet teenager.  Am I giving sacrificially the way Wilhelme did?

Jim goes on to thank those who donate to Amazon Relief.  If you are able to help feed the hungry, help send kids to school, and help with all the other amazing work they do, you can donate here.  Thank you!

Deacon Jim at our Church is a gifted homilist.  (By the way, for those of you not raised in the faith, or who may have been raised in a Protestant faith, a ‘homily’ is the same as a ‘sermon’.)  He gave me permission to share his homily from a few weeks ago…

Keep in mind that it’s written as his notes to speak from, not to be read, so it may seem a little choppy, but you’ll get it.

Homily – Deacon Jim Hessler, Our Lady of Consolation, Rockford, MI.
4th Sunday Easter B – 2012 – First Communion Weekend

There are lots of shepherds out there…shepherds in the sense of the advisors, guides and voices that will influence our lives.

In the early part of our lives, our shepherds are chosen for us.

Parents, teachers, coaches, relatives, priests.

As we grow older we get to choose many of our own shepherds – and those we still can’t choose, we can choose to listen or not listen to them.

We choose our shepherds – the voices & influences in our lives.

Jesus is the shepherd who is always available to us to choose. He never imposes himself on us, but patiently waits to be asked.

While Jesus is the ultimate good shepherd, there are other good shepherds, other voices of good. But there are also shepherds that are not so good – voices we need to be wary of.

We always evaluate the goodness other shepherds against the Divine Good Shepherd.

Here is a shepherd that I have chosen to use from time to time – a GPS. Is it a good shepherd?

We always judge the goodness of our shepherds by how they compare to Jesus.

Top 8 reasons why a GPS is like Jesus, our Divine Shepherd

8.  Whenever I plug it in and request its assistance, it is there. Jesus never forces Himself upon us. He wants to be asked.

7.  It talks to me while I’m driving – I don’t have to think about it. Jesus can talk to us at any time, if we are willing to listen.

6.  It knows where I am at all times. While the GPS might get this wrong, Jesus never will. He knows where I am and what I need.

5.  If I make a mistake and get off track – it says “re-calibrating” and gets me back on course. Jesus can always redirect us onto the right path.

4.  I can choose to ignore it. Jesus leaves that up to us.

3.  If I don’t turn the volume down on the radio – interference – I can’t hear it. The world is full of noise. We come to Mass to turn down the noise in our lives.

2.  When I have made a mistake and turn down the wrong road – “Turn around as soon as possible.” Jesus has given us the Sacraments as great opportunities to turn around. Jesus gives us a faith of forgiveness and new beginnings.

1.  If the GPS is disconnected from the car for too long, what happens? It goes dead. The same thing might happen to us spiritually if we don’t stay close to Jesus and the Eucharist.

Jesus wants to be our choice, our shepherd, the voice we listen to.

We return to the Eucharist week after week to “recalibrate” – to recharge, to quiet the noise.

What we really need to be concerned with is not a GPS, not a global positioning system, but an EPS – an eternal positioning system. When we listen to the good shepherd’s voice we know we will be on the right track. Let us all pray that we will always choose Jesus to be our good shepherd.

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