Mtr Taylor Devine

Good morning,

Is there a story you tell over and over? Or an experience that sears into your mind what it is to be a [insert title here] – a Christian, a parent, a child, a beloved, a Baptized person?

When I lived and worked in Baltimore, MD, the Rector of the Church and I would frequently drive together through the busy streets to various meetings or events, and there were times when people would ask us for money. Panhandling or begging reminds me a bit of gleaning, taking the edges, the change. There’s always a momentary dilemma-do I have any change, do I roll down the window, what if I, just this time, gave $100 and not $1, is that a clean place to stay for two nights? People who are begging bring “the stranger” up close and personal, if only for a moment. When we drove together, the Rector for whom I worked felt that she needed to have a story of hope to share in these moments, especially when driving around in her collar or with vestments in the back. What would be your story, or would you stick to listening? Would it be about Jesus welcoming of the penitent woman bringing perfume for anointing? Would it be about a situation you felt God pull you through? Would it be about the beatitudes and how you’ve seen blessedness and woes? Would you stick to listening, or a quick “God Bless”? The stranger becomes the neighbor in the Christian life. Following the compassion Jesus showed, we learn to have empathy, be generous, receive help, and as Christians we sometimes fail at this and perhaps to try again. We see how God's saving grace isn't just for me, and isn't just for me only if I do it all just right.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the world’s grief, by our complicity, by wishing we had the answers or just more loose change. But it is Jesus’ coming into the world, so close, so dangerously, that has given us somewhere to go from here. God among us is the one who showed us what it might look like to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly. If you have stories of encounters where you saw Christ in the “other,” or when the love of God was shared with you, consider emailing me (taylor.devine@stphilipstucson.org), or calling the office and meeting with me. I don’t have perfect answers for how to be generous or to change systems, but I have some ideas and some spiritual and relational resources on which to draw, and I would love to hear about how you or your neighbor walks with the two feet of love, of justice and charity.

With prayers for you in the name of Christ, by whose wounds we are healed,

Mtr. Taylor