photo by David Faulkner / CC BY-NC-ND
I got to spend Tuesday morning this week with 124 kids (plus 68 adults & teens) that have been creating a musical they’ll share at our 9:45 and 11:00 worship services on Sunday morning. We closed our time together with prayer, and I asked, “What should we pray about?” Two young boys raised their hands. I called on the first, and he said, “the shootings.” The second boy put down his hand and then raised it again and asked, “Which ones?” It turned out they had two different shootings in mind.
I long for a world where children don’t have to ask for prayers for a shooting or to clarify for which one. I have some suggestions for how to create that world.
Prayer is a good start toward that world. The Bible teaches that humanity’s propensity for injustice and violence is rooted in spiritual brokenness that only God can heal. However, we also have a role to play in creating a more just and peaceful world.
An old Jewish teaching says that it’s better to give 1,000 small gifts than 1 large gift, because the habit of giving will transform the giver into a more generous person and ultimately have more impact. Most of us won’t have the opportunity to make one large impact for peace and justice, but all of us can take small daily actions that promote them. I can strike up conversations with my neighbors I don’t know, especially those with a different first language or racial background. I can choose to give the benefit of the doubt to others rather than assume they act out of malice. As our senior pastor, Clayton, encouraged last Sunday, I can listen to the laments of others. I can also participate in ministries of FUMCR that help me get to know people I wouldn’t otherwise meet, such as our partnership with Mark Twain Elementary School, Body and Soul, or one of our other Mission and Outreach ministries.
Any given small act that promotes peace and justice will not likely change the world, but many small acts taken by all of us consistently over time will change us in ways that ultimately will change the world.
I hope you’ll join me in taking those small acts.
In Christ,
Rich
Rich Rindfuss
Access Pastor
First United Methodist Church Richardson