Friends,
“I’m thinking about getting something to eat,” but I don’t eat anything. “I’m thinking about paying my taxes on time,” but I don’t pay them at all, ever. “I’ve decided to go to work now,” but I don’t go anywhere. It’s important to think about what and when we eat, but if we don’t get something to eat, we die. It’s important to pay our taxes, but if we don’t, we might go to jail. If we don’t go anywhere, we’re stuck in the spot where we are standing.
Thoughts can lead to other worthwhile thoughts, and intentions to other valuable intentions. Yet, there’s a range of thoughts and intentions that are meaningless unless they lead to action. You may think that I’m about to encourage you to go to church more often or give more money. Why not? But, there’s a sense in which those are only half-acts, like lifting your foot but never putting it back down. Suspended in air, it waits for solid ground and forward movement.
We read about hunger and poverty in the United States and abroad, and we think that’s wrong. We intend to do something about it, and do. CTS’ benevolence giving is generous, and service at Gaithersburg HELP, the Lamb Center and other agencies is extraordinary. We also need to take the next step of social justice action, i.e. changing the system that contributes to injustices. Marriage equality and other great opportunities lie before us.
The DREAM law – regular in-state tuition rates for youth brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents – is up for a public vote in November. We can learn more about the law. Did you know that it applies to active duty military persons stationed in the state, and that 12 other states had passed a DREAM Act? We can act to encourage people to vote, whether for or against.
Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters is another opportunity for action toward justice. This year’s campaign urges Congress and the administration to form a circle of protection around programs that help poor and hungry people, specifically domestic nutrition, tax credits for low-income families, international food aid programs and poverty-focused foreign assistance. CTS has done Offerings in the past. Now is a great time to resume this important practice.
We will think and learn, imagine and intend together, and, finally, put our thinking, learning, imagining and intending into action that helps in our neighborhood and beyond. The beneficiaries, who because they are healthier and better educated, will bring untold blessings to us all. And, we get the satisfaction of knowing that we helped make a difference.
Peace,
Pastor Hoehn
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