Helping out those in need this season

As you might imagine, Sunday mornings are pretty hectic for a local church pastor. Some colleagues of mine have it rougher. They are assigned to more than one church and have to travel between them to preach on a given Sabbath morning. I've never had to do that. My ministry always has been at one place at a time. Still, Sundays are busy days for those who share my vocation.

A week ago today, God created a space of 20 minutes (between services at Centenary) for me to go across town and hear someone else bring a message. It was time well spent. The presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States, Katharine Jefferts Schori, spoke at Christ Episcopal in Cape Girardeau. It is quite an honor to have the leader of one's denomination at your church -- and the people of Christ Episcopal and its rector, Father Bob Towner, are to be commended for their work in our community.

The bulletin did not list a sermon title for Bishop Schori's message, but if I were to assign one, it would be "Overfed Sheep." Using as her primary text, Ezekiel 34, she zeroed in on these words of the Lord God: "I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep."

The text and the message spoke to me. In my role, I am exposed regularly to the unemployed and underemployed, to folks struggling (and sometimes failing) to make ends meet, to people who seem to be hanging on by their fingertips. All of this in a surrounding culture that is -- even in our battered current economy -- prosperous and wealthy. Or, as Ezekiel might put it, fat.

Bishop Schori told congregants Nov. 20 that it is easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of need. This state of affairs, she opined, is not an invitation to despair; rather, it begs the question: "Why does the need grow so fast?" She quoted statistics. I'm usually suspicious of such numbers because figures, taken out of context, can often be manipulated to suit a particular point of the speaker or writer. It is hard, however, to quibble with the following stat: One of six Americans lives at or beneath the 2011 poverty line of $22,350 (family of four).

It is tempting to relieve ourselves of responsibility for those in poverty. It is true that some make poor decisions when it comes to money. It is true that Mark's Gospel quotes Jesus as saying, "The poor will always be with you." (Mark 14:7) In this, Jesus reveals himself as a realist. Poverty will never be stamped out -- but acknowledging this should not be taken as license to do nothing. The overfed have some responsibility for the starving. Recall Jesus' words to St. Peter: "Feed my sheep." (John 21:17)

If we tried to absorb into our hearts all the need we see around us, our hearts would burst. So we prioritize our caring. We can't help everyone; we can't solve every need. But if you are "overfed," as I am, then perhaps there is someone hanging on this Christmas season that you and I can help. It does little good, especially in the short term, to suggest that someone else should be stepping up. As the words of the great holiday hymn suggest, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Long is senior pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau.