This is Part 14 of a fifteen-part series called “The Vision of an Ideal Parish” based on an article by Dr. Peter Williamson published in 2016. This series is intended to return us to our original Faith Forward Vision.
“Mine! Mine! Mine!” How often did we yell that when we were children? Perhaps it was “my” toy, or “my” room, or “my” cloths, or “my” iPod (…or CD… or cassette… or 8-track – depending on your age, ha!). And I wish I could say that it is only young people who are so concerned with “mine!” As adults we argue over “my” stapler, “my” property, “my” office, or “my” duty. Sometimes the little kid in each of us comes out when something of “mine” is threatened. And this only means that we need to learn to share.
Just the other day I was visiting a family’s house, and a skirmish broke out among the kids over a toy. And, as you can expect, the mom walked over to the kids and told them to share. But, you know, I think that the lesson of “sharing” is a perennial lesson that affects us at every age of our life. Adults need to learn to share as much as children. Even nations and states need to learn to share. How much of global poverty could be overcome if we simply had a just and trustworthy method of sharing resources internationally! Children say, “mine!” Adults say, “mine!” Nations say, “mine!”
Heck, even the Apostles said, “mine!” Philip and James asked Jesus to give them the highest seats in the kingdom of heaven! And again, in Acts of the Apostles two disciples, Ananias and Sapphira, withheld a portion of their wealth from the Christian community and were severely punished. In the case of Philip and James, Jesus taught them to share. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira the Apostles taught the community to share. And so too, each in our own way, we need to learn how to share.
We must seek the maturity that moves us from saying “mine” to saying “yours.” As St. Paul says,
“Name one thing you have that you have not received” (1 Cor 4:7).
Everything we have we have received from someone else, and especially from God! That means everything we have is a gift. The fullest Christian attitude, when it comes to possessions, is not “mine” but “God’s”. He is the giver of every good gift and, as such, expects us, like a good parent to share with others. While we all have a right to provide for our needs, none of us have a right to avoid sharing with others.
Where there is no sharing there is no community. There are some people who see the world as “dog-eat-dog”, but Christians see the world as “one-provides-for-another.” We must learn to share. An ideal Christian community is one that shares material resources. Yes, volunteering is important and praying for our parish is important. But we also must share our material and physical resources as well. In other words, an ideal Christian community one who changes the “mine” of money, into a “yours” of God’s blessings… and then shares that blessing with one’s neighbor.
Father Jarrod Lies, Pastor