When the Homily is about Immunology

The Greatest Mission Field...at your feet

My wife and I had our now routine nightly "Parenting Conference" a couple of nights ago, during which my wife mentioned the oft quoted Prayer Breakfast homily of St. BONO, Bishop and Melodist of PoMo and all Blogodom. His Revered Eminence spoke eloquently about the need for Americans (in particular) to do more to help the suffering in the world today.

No doubt, His Grace is right. And my wife lamented for our lack of giving, our seeming inability to do more profound things for the world's suffering. I have shared this sentiment myself and if you have read this blog regularly then you likely know what direction I headed in our conversation.

I would like to do more too. As many of you know, with Ron Sider's book under my arm, I once had grand plans of taking off to the third world and doing some grand work to perhaps provide clean water for a remote village, or perhaps giving lectures on better hygeine to help reduce the spread of disease, or perhaps just serving in a food line handing out bowls of oatmeal. I'm not entirely sure what became of that "vision" but I do know that I now have something more immediate that demands more effort, more attention, and more self-sacrifice than I imagine digging wells in Nigeria could ever be. Now, I am a father.

Don't get me wrong, I still desire to help - in someway - to alleviate suffering throughout the world, but for now that is going to have to be primarily expressed in my willingess to give away cash and prayers. No, wait, that's not entirely true. There is something GREATER still that I can do to help the suffering of the world and it is found in my duties (which I personally - admittedly because of my sins - find to be profoundly challenging) as a father.

I pray that I have brought four lives into this world who will be raised to love and who will be raised to bring beauty into the world. Who will strive to love God and their neighbor and who will have a heart for the world at large that suffers. It is no easy task (and in no small way are their failures actually MINE!)- frankly digging wells or slopping out oatmeal would be much easier for me! Worse still, I am a horrible example all too often. But I am trying, and more than that, I seek to better recognize my failures and to try with varying levels of success to pin them down and snuff them out.

My kids will have kids, and their kids will have kids. If I do my job properly...or at least, better than I have been doing, then THAT will - I hope - be a much more profound benefit to the world than what little cash I can presently spare. None-the-less I take the Blessed Hierarch of Non-Institutionalized Emergent "Churches" BONO's advice to heart...and more.

The greatest mission field, parents, sits at your feet. There's alot of people to be saved in the world, but don't forget where your time, energy, and finances can make the most difference. God grant that we raise children who will truly love...much better than we (I) do.