How Can I Help?

In recent years I have noticed there are people around me who have no hope.  They have few friends.  No one calls.  No one remembers their birthdays.  They get by, barely, with their basic needs met by food banks and government programs.  They live, but it is not a life you or I would ever choose.  In past generations, neighbors knew one another; families lived close together.  No one was alone.  No one was without hope.

Now, we don’t know our neighbors --- but they’re there.  We don’t keep close contact with our relatives, who have moved far away --- but contact is easier than ever.  We don’t know; we don’t contact; people are lonely; people are without hope.

Our knowledge of our neighbors, our contacts with relatives are way down because we haven’t taken the time.  We are part of the problem, not with a virus in the world that we can’t cure, but we (collectively) are the ones who have caused people around us, our neighbors and perhaps even our family members, to be without hope.  We haven’t taken the time to heed that simple commandment, to love our neighbor.

How can I help?  Well, now that you have some time, sitting home in your quarantine, let me give you some examples which I know about.  Perhaps they can be built upon:

·         My Friday morning Bible Study group didn’t meet at Panera’s this morning; we met on a conference call.  We discussed how the Bible was calling us into action; we prayed for each other, and our problems and worries today.

·         A local church identified every member over the age of 75, and called each one:  What can I do to help you?  What can I pray for you?

·         A local non-profit is asking similar questions of the local elderly, and promising to search for help (local food banks, info, errand runners, etc.) and report back.  The largest commonly-identified needs will be referred to local government sources, which can leverage larger responses.  (It is assumed utility & mortgage payments can be temporarily delayed --- not immediate needs, and beyond local resources to address).

·         My church will offer televised Sunday masses.

·         I will continue my Meals on Wheels and grocery deliveries to people in need, taking precautions to prevent virus spread.  (Volunteers are running short, as some previous volunteers fear going out.)

·         I turned on my Christmas lights (which I hadn’t taken down), as a small sign of hope to my neighbors.

·         I will spend time each day, praying God will show me how to use my wisdom and talents, and for humility to not try to do everything, to not worry over what I can’t control, to trust in Him.

So, back to the question:  How can I help?

·         You can search your own list, your family and friends’ directory, and call anyone over 75 years old.  How can I help you?  What can I pray for?  And talk to them awhile, to ease their anxieties.  And pray with them.  And call again next week.

·         Check with your local government website and local non-profits (the local United Way might be a good place to start):  How can I help?

·         Take time to pray.  It’s Lent, turn off the movies; give up something.

·         Don’t spread anxiety --- this blog IS called:  Do Not Be Anxious.

In some ways, I think this virus is a blessing.  It is a call to slow down, to take time for important things, to grow closer to our families and neighbors.  This time we have is a blessing.  Use it well.

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It seems my daily breviary prayers are spot on, of late.  Perhaps that’s another thing you might do; I am sure the Liturgy of the Hours (breviary) prayers are available online.  This morning I read from Psalm 69:

Save me, O God,
for the waters have risen to my neck.

I have sunk into the mud of the deep
and there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep
and the waves overwhelm me

I am wearied with all my crying
my throat is parched.
My eyes are wasted away
from looking for my God.

Let those who hope in you not be put to shame
through me, Lord of hosts;
let not those who seek you be dismayed
through me, God of Israel.

As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God lift me up.

I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving,
a gift pleasing God more than oxen,
more than beasts prepared for sacrifice.

The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.

Morning Prayer Hymn:

Lord, whose love in humble service
Bore the weight of human need,
Who did on the cross forsaken,
Show us mercy’s perfect deed:
We, your servants, bring the worship
Not of voice alone, but heart;
Consecrating to your purpose
Every gift which you impart.

As we worship, grant us vision,
Till your love’s revealing light,
Till the height and depth and greatness
Dawns upon our human sight; Making know the needs and burdens
Your compassion bids us bear,
Stirring us to faithful service,
Your abundant life to share.

Called from worship into service
Forth in your great name we go,
To the child, the youth, the aged,
Love in living deeds to show.

And each morning I read one chapter from the New Testament, and one Psalm.  These I recently read:

“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, being in full accord
and of one mind.  Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in
humility count others better than yourselves.  Let each of you
look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality
with God a thing to be grasped.

--- Philippians 2

I won’t print out Psalm 43, but it is titled:  Prayer to God in Time of Trouble.

Peace be with you, my friends.