Sr. Joan Chittister told a story at one of the anniversary celebrations of Pax Christi. I may have shared this story but I really like it. She goes on to tell them about this teacher and his students. There was a teacher who wanted to teach his students the meaning of risk and so he told them this story. There were laborers who would work in fields in Asia. They took flights to get to these remote fields. The flights were long and boring and so the men decided to play cards. It was decided by the laborers that the man who lost the card game would be thrown out of the plane without a parachute. The students were astounded and said, “that’s a terrible thing to do.” The teacher said, “I suppose but it sure made the game more interesting.” Joan Chittister’s point was that you never live so fully as when you gamble with your life. To win the game of our life, we will have to risk it all and not hold back. She went on to say to the Pax Christi group that they could stop at this momentous occasion (I think it was a 25th anniversary) and rest with the goodness of all their work or they could risk continuing on the journey and see where God would take them.
It’s the same with our parish. I think Nativity could stop now and be proud of all that has been accomplished through this parish and not move any further and no one would fault us OR we can get up and risk everything and see where God takes us. Just in case you don’t know, I’m for risking it all and seeing where God takes us. I don’t think our mission is just to keep ourselves from being closed. If that’s all we want, then I’m jumping out of the plane now! I think we have a deeper mission than just being a community of friends who love Nativity. I think we are called to be open with a compassionate presence to this neighborhood. This is the neighborhood where God has put us. The folks in this neighborhood are waiting to teach us what it means to have faith when you’ve got nothing else. They are here to show us the face of Christ in his wounds and in his glory. They are here to show us how to be in relationship with people we thought we had nothing in common with. They are here to minister to us!
I ask that you come on June 11th and pray with us. God has more in store for Nativity if we’re open to the Spirit. Let’s allow the Spirit to blow through this parish and bring new life to all of us. See you on the 11th and bring your courage with you!
It’s the same with our parish. I think Nativity could stop now and be proud of all that has been accomplished through this parish and not move any further and no one would fault us OR we can get up and risk everything and see where God takes us. Just in case you don’t know, I’m for risking it all and seeing where God takes us. I don’t think our mission is just to keep ourselves from being closed. If that’s all we want, then I’m jumping out of the plane now! I think we have a deeper mission than just being a community of friends who love Nativity. I think we are called to be open with a compassionate presence to this neighborhood. This is the neighborhood where God has put us. The folks in this neighborhood are waiting to teach us what it means to have faith when you’ve got nothing else. They are here to show us the face of Christ in his wounds and in his glory. They are here to show us how to be in relationship with people we thought we had nothing in common with. They are here to minister to us!
I ask that you come on June 11th and pray with us. God has more in store for Nativity if we’re open to the Spirit. Let’s allow the Spirit to blow through this parish and bring new life to all of us. See you on the 11th and bring your courage with you!