Grace and Truth: A word from pastors

A new year is dawning, and the old year is quickly fading away.

This year we will stick to those diets and exercise routines.

This year we will visit the family more.

This year we will be more giving.

This year we will not allow things/people to upset or distract us.

This year we will be more like Christ.

Each New Year prompts us to make plans and changes we hope will lead us in a new direction that will make our lives better. We examine our life and challenge ourselves to make the proper changes, which will lead us to be better people. The New Year reminds us that we have another chance.

This is the season when we celebrate the birth and life of our Savior. We remember his ministry, his stories and his promises, which make us want to be better. We quickly find that like our many New Year’s resolutions our quest to be more like Christ can be a difficult task. We slip back into our human nature and settle into our routine lives.

And even though we tithe and attend a worship service every week, give offerings to assist the many ministries that our church community supports and volunteer with local programs, if we’re honest we are only following our usual routines.

But what if we start this year with a better plan? What if we start this year with a different dream? What if we start this year with great intention to be like Jesus? What if we abandoned our routine lives and did something extraordinary? Christ moved all around meeting new people. Christ brought hope and healing to those who were in need. What if this year our hope was to offer ourselves as gifts of God?

Several years ago, I had the privilege of serving food to the homeless in Miami, Fla. It was an experience, to say the least. I witnessed nuns who did not worry whether or not it would be enough food because they knew God would provide.

I watched homeless men and women coming off the streets for a hot meal with smiles on their faces and laughter among one another. I was blessed to see Jesus differently that day. It was nothing of what I expected. It was emotionally challenging to see so many people in need of food. Yet I was able to experience the peace of Christ.

I remember thinking, How are we going to feed all these people? Where did they all come from? And in an instant I felt as small as an ant in this big world, which was out of my control. The line was long, and I was sure we would run out of food.

But those nuns never wavered. They kept cooking and serving without any concern for the long line of hungry people. How could this be possible? I thought. Why aren’t they concerned? That is when I learned that they serve 300 people daily for breakfast and lunch.

They never ask for donations, yet donated food comes every day. They never make food plans; they cook what is available. And miraculously there is always enough.

What kind of God is this that sends his children to one spot and his other children provide hot meals with little to no preparation? I would learn that day, it is a God of extraordinary possibilities. It is a God of hope and love.

Ministry has never been the same since I spent the day with those nuns in Miami. Because of them I understand that God is doing amazing work all around us; we just need to get out in his world and join in God’s work. Stepping out of our routines, our traditions and our customs and experiencing God in someone else’s backyard can be exhilarating.

This year, join a pickup game of basketball in another neighborhood. Go to the golf course and instead of playing a round of golf try being someone’s caddy. Go to a public place and simply open doors for people as they go by. This year, organize a neighborhood block party in someone else’s neighborhood.

This year stand on the side of the road and ask for financial help, then give the donations to a local charity. This year do something extraordinary. This year let us try to be like Jesus by standing in a different place.

Cyneatha Millsaps is pastor of Community Mennonite Church in Markham, Ill.