Signs of God touching us!

Signs of God touching us!

Perhaps you have not felt the hand of God upon your most immediate needs, but to be sure he is always ready to reach into our vulnerable weaknesses without us even recognizing his presence.  Of course as humans we always expect something tangible when any of us feels the weight of ignominy and we are looking for the touch of God in ways we might understand.  

The one tragedy we find that is part of our society is a term we call hopelessness.  In some cities there are portions that contain a large number of citizens who have become a statistic instead of a provider for their neighbors.  This symbolism of poverty has existed for more years than we might care to admit.  Yet, it has become a ministry of Christians who look for something to do in helping the poor that may not be apparent to those who live an affluent life.  

Waiting for God to reach in and lift these indigent persons out of their despair he has spoken to the gifted persons as you and I to do the obvious and become the hands of himself to become the ways and means of his grace.  When we who are his hands that will reach into the drudgery of so many lives, look around and notice these unfortunate souls, we become the hands of God bringing hope to the hopeless and light to those who walk in darkness.  

How many of these souls will not have a Christmas tree this year, and the children who do not comprehend the difference between poverty and the affluent who live just a few miles away.  It is understandable that there may be some who have grown up in a semblance of poverty and are attuned to living penniless, some with a sense of envy towards the other side of society who appear to always make it through each day.  It is the old adage of, “give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day.  Teach that man how to fish and he’ll eat forever.”  

Place ourselves in the presence of the Trinity when they looked at the Creation they brought about and watched as sin entered the world and corrupted humanity.  They had the way to make a change in our lives by assuming humanity and teaching us how to have faith and get up and walk away from the evils of hopelessness.  

This is the same scenario that we who are well-off, maybe only steps away from the disparity of the inner city where very few, if any, struggle to just look at the sunshine and breathe air that has no stench.  God didn’t wait for his creation to figure a way out of sin, and we should also not wait for those who could be our neighbors to find their own way out of misery.  

Anytime some good meaning parishioners seek to give Christmas blessings to those who have no hope, take a moment and drive downtown to the inner city and find there is no limit to where to start.   It may take more than a one time excursion, but let that first step become a pattern for giving hope, today and tomorrow.

Ralph B. Hathaway