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Jesus in India

April 5, 2010 in Church, Faith with 0 Comments

N Krishnan at work feeding the mentally ill in India.

I love CNN Heroes. Every year I enjoy the stories of life-changers around the world. Individuals who are doing amazing things in different countries out of different passions and skills. Their courage, their dedication, their action inspire and challenge me.

The other night I was watching CNN and the video below was played about one of the nominated heroes fo 2010, Narayanan Krishnan. I was so touched by this man’s story. I was touched by his choice to give up a lucrative career as a chef to the privileged in order to prepare meals for the discarded, mostly mentally ill in India. I was touched by his faithfulness to serve three meals a day, day in and day out, to over 400 overlooked souls – most of whom cannot utter a word of gratitude.

But I was most moved, most clearly aware that I was watching Jesus in the flesh, when I saw him groom, wash, feed and touch the nobodies of society. In every second of that footage, I was watching Jesus in action and also knowing that this beautiful man was spending his days and nights with Jesus on the streets of India.

And he has been doing this for eight years – 365 days a year.

Watch the video below. Read more about him here.

^31-33“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

^34-36“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

^37-40“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

^41-43“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

⁴⁴“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

⁴⁵“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

⁴⁶“Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.” (Matthew 25:31-46, The Message)

Thoughts on Dominican

February 1, 2010 in Church, Uncategorized with 0 Comments

The true team - Dominicans, Haitians, and Americans (and a couple of Canadians thrown in.)

I returned Saturday evening after eight days in the Dominican Republic working with Servant’s Heart Ministries. I led a team of six others from our church. It was an amazing week of ministry, of relationship-building, of warmth! (literally since it is snowy here and sunny there).

I love to travel, to immerse myself in other cultures, to meet the large family of God. I find joy in bringing a team along – especially newbies who remind me of the first-time awe and joy of a mission trip.

I’m grateful for the physical reminders of what daily life is like for the majority of the world. Did you know that if you make $35,000/year, you are in the top 5% of the wealthiest individuals in the world? Rich is relative. Riches are relative. I’ve met more joyous and grateful individuals in my travels around the world then I do in my community here. I’m not romanticizing third-world nations or pretending that everyone in these communities are just simply happy folks and pure of heart. They are human and there are individuals in every community that are negative, opportunistic, greedy, and self-centered. Every community has them.

But there are so many who demonstrate joy, hope, and peace regardless of their wealth or possessions (or lack thereof.)

One of the things that continually impressed us during our week of service were the volunteers. They came from the community (not all from the church) and they gave their time and their strength to the construction project. We were amazed at their hard work. We were humbled by the shoes they wore that were literally held together by threads. We were challenged by their since of community – sharing what little they had with one another. If someone brought a bowl of rice and beans for lunch, one would take a bite then pass the bowl to the next person. No one took more than their share. The same with water and with tasks on the site.

In our culture of individualism and self-reliance, we have much to learn from those cultures, who often out of necessity, developed a value for community and continue to protect and nurture that value. Working together, we accomplished an amazing week of work. Working independently, we would have nothing to show for it.

We Are Family … Whether You Like It or Not

January 17, 2010 in Church with 0 Comments

Today I was blessed to have the opportunity to preach at FBC-JC. I always enjoy the opportunity to share and the church family is always very gracious. We are in a sermon series titled “Singing God Songs and Telling God Stories”. We are basically working through various stories in the Bible and I was assigned the story of Cain of Abel.

Here is the link to the sermon if you wish to read it.

Hope for Haiti

January 15, 2010 in Church, Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Since Tuesday afternoon, our hearts and thoughts have been held captive by the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti to its core. As stories are told and media is shared, we are seeing the awful reality of the death and destruction that is the reality now for the millions that call the area around Port au Prince home.

It is so heartbreaking to imagine what these men, women, and children are going through. It is unfathomable for most US citizens.

And it is just one more thing to happen to a country that has endured disaster after disaster and years of abject poverty.

Each evening as I head to bed I think about the thousands that are still buried alive in the rubble and have yet to be found. People who, hurt or not, are in complete isolation and have been wondering for 50+ hours if anyone will find them or if they are slowly taking their last breaths in their personal tomb.

Each day I think of the family members who do not know what has happened to their loved ones. If they have perished or if they are still alive under the rubble. I imagine someone who has received a miracle text from someone buried under levels of a building knowing that there is absolutely nothing they can do.

Each day I think of the humanitarian workers who have worked tirelessly in Haiti for years only to see everything devastated in a matter of minutes. I think of the Haitian, who against all odds, built themselves a life and a business and provided for their family and in mere seconds, they are back to ground zero.

In the days months ahead, may we continue our faithful and ceaseless prayers. May we be generous with our money. And may we commit to staying the course with Haiti in the years of recovery to come.

Gracious, Emmanuel. Grant peace in the midst of the chaos and pain in Haiti. May Your light shine in all the darkness that covers this land. Give miraculous strength to all relief workers, humanitarians, and volunteers. Flood the Haitians with your love and comfort and may you soften our hearts and move us to action out of love for our brothers and sisters. Amen.