Here's a thought-for-the-day, a quote of Dr. Howard Thurman, a civil rights leader and colleague of Dr. King:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you
come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people
who have come alive."
I think I'm so taken by this thought because Thurman was a follower of Jesus who truly followed his Lord right into the muck of hate-filled confrontation over equal rights in our country. He was immersed in the battle for what the world needs and knew how important it was to be working tirelessly for change. But he also had the wisdom to see that our spirits yearn to be fed, that we need to seek out what makes us come alive. And in coming alive, our world will be changed as well.
I can imagine that Dr. Thurman could have been wieghed down with despair and disgust as he witnessed and experienced oppression all around him. And maybe some days that's exactly what happened. But I bet on his spirited days he came alive with hope, writing and speaking creatively of how God is moving hearts to open up to one another, despite our differences.
When I picture Jesus walking through the city streets and country paths of his world, I see one who is fully alive, so full of the life of God that it spilled out all over the place. In my times of prayer, I see Jesus inviting me to come along, to be part of this exciting movement of opening up to our world's vast needs. Though I can't begin to address them all, I can try to see where my world's needs and my own gifts for coming alive intersect. God's given me gifts for compassion and openness, for listening and serving. I can offer those gifts back to the world out of guilt and duty and end up with more shoulds and more despair than I started with. Or... I can begin by asking God to fill me up each day with life and joy that will overflow... for the life of my world.
What is it that makes you come alive? And how does that passionate life overflow into the world around you? Can you imagine God lifting your eyes to see beyond the muck of the world... to see new possibilities, new ways to connect with others who long to come alive together? What thoughts can you add to this conversation, begun by the assertion of one hope-filled Dr. Thurman? Please do share!
~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl
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2 comments:
This reminds me of a comedic movie called Nacho Libre. In this film, Jack Black stars as Nacho, a cook who works at a monastery which doubles as an orphanage and tries to find a way to help the Church and the world despite his love of wrestling. Despite wrestlings' seemingly unholy demeanor, Nacho, in the end, finds a way to combine his passion for wrestling with his love of the Church by winning a contest in which he wins money to give happiness to all the orphans from the monastery. We Christians, unfortunately, are not all wrestlers, but I think we can take some from Nacho, and from MLK, Jr and his colleague to realize that no human comes without a love for something, especially something not always beneficial to others and to God. So we must mold those passions and obsessions into something helpful, caring, and overall God-loving. Wrestling, by all means, included.
Dr. Thurman had a great way of framing how we should live out our vocation or the gifts God gives us (including being passionate and alive in the doing) to share with others. In sharing ourselves and our passions, we help our neighbors and share the love of Christ with them. This sharing or living out our "calling" both makes us individually more alive and is life giving/sustaining for others.
By living a life full of meaning and purpose, or in other words to truly being alive, needs to be done in community. Truly being alive is all about connecting with others who share your passions and interests. Together, individual relationships, groups and whole communities do and can change the world.
So march for civil rights, advocate for the homeless, feed the hungry, sing and bring a smile to people who hurt, lead/manage or teach others, wrestle (as a wrestler or actor) or engage in whatever makes you and in turn others around you more alive... Life: it's what Jesus modeled and gave us!
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