The Power of a Parish

Dear Friends,

Today’s Gospel from Matthew 5:17-37 speaks in minute detail about law and about the Commandments. But it all boils down to two broad concepts: reverence for God and respect for one another. Commenting on this scripture, Rev. William Barclay, renowned theologian, says “[Jesus] came to show men and women in actual life what reverence for God and respect for one another are like.”

As I digest the events of this past week, which I spent among the poorest of the poor in Haiti, I am thinking about how much love and respect the 23 people traveling with me showed for the people we encountered. I’m also thinking about how reverence for God was present everywhere and in everyone. The “tap-taps,” Haiti’s informal taxis, all had sayings in Creole praising God or asking for His mercy. The people who thanked us always thanked God first. There is a thread through all our trips to Haiti, and it is that the Gospel comes alive in the land of the poor. Even a very difficult piece of scripture like today’s reading can be found in real life in the slums of the world.

I used to think that the poor were powerless and that we were on a one-way street, bringing aid to them. Over the years, and through many journeys to Haiti, however, I have found that we are actually travelling a two-way street. Yes, we bring our resources to bear on the extreme needs and the brutal poverty. But we also receive gifts and benefits from the poor. I have learned that the powerlessness of the poor can be transformed by God into incredible power in a parish like ours.

Our engagement with the poor, across the street and around the world, has brought Church of the Nativity into a position of power and influence that I never dreamed possible. We gave birth to Operation Starfish®, through which we have provided more that 1,000 houses in 8 Nativity Villages, and we inaugurated our 9th village, “Fish4Hope” last week. This began with two 30 year old young men three years ago who were moved by what they encountered on a parish pilgrimage. Food For The Poor has created a national Operation Starfish® campaign and over 300 churches and schools have participated over the years. In 2014, Nativity will fund Operation Starfish® projects in Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. We have supported international, national and local projects in Cameroon, the Philippines, Mexico, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and all around our neighborhood. We have been recognized by Vatican officials (the Apostolic Delegate to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza), Bishops, Government leaders, foundations and charities and I emphasize the word “we.” The birth of Operation Starfish® began with this Rhode Islander. But it only developed and grew because of you, our good people. And because of you, Operation Starfish® has spread to many dioceses throughout the country.

And yet, all of this is nothing in comparison to what we as a parish have experienced in spiritual growth and blessings. I credit our “success” in the world with our commitment to reverence for God and respect for others. When we open the doors of our sanctuary to EVERYONE, sinner and saint alike, we are drawing in the needy, the people who have been hurt, who are in pain, who are lost. And we are letting God work through us to make them feel welcome, to heal them, to walk with them for a while. And when we and they walk back through those doors into the world, we are infused with God’s power and we make the world a better place. We go across the street and around the world to bring God’s love to all we meet. This
is the power of our parish. We feed the poor, they feed us back, and, with renewed strength, we go out and evangelize, not with words, but with our presence.

Have a good week, and I’ll be writing more about our trip to Haiti in future Pastor’s Corners.