Reflections During a Government Shut-Down

I have been reflecting on the early church and its commitment to generosity. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled walls of division to fall between people. Folks were so amazed and wanted to know what was happening. Peter tells them about Jesus and his saving work and thousands were baptized into the faith.

The new converts learned of the ways of Jesus from the apostles and joined together in the “breaking of bread and prayers.” They grew as the body of Christ, with a sense of family and community that was so strong that “they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” (Acts 2: 45-47)

It is time, dear church, for us to reclaim our heritage and this early zeal for the welfare of all people. The United State government shut down is in its 29th day. One quarter of the federal government is closed, and 800,000 individuals are furloughed or working without pay. These are fathers and mothers, primary providers of their family. These are young people, struggling to make ends meet as they begin their careers. These are people who don’t know how they are going to pay their rent or mortgage this month, who might have to choose between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their heads.

These are our neighbors. These are God’s children and therefore our siblings.

What is God calling us to do?

This is a moment for you and me to remember the life to which we are called as disciples of Jesus: our love of God should be made plain as we love and care for our neighbors. It is time for us to step up and check in on people who have been impacted by the shutdown. It is time for us to gather our riches and share what we have with those who are suffering. It is time for us to prepare a banquet in our fellowship halls and invite our neighbors in.

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, invites us to a generous expression of faith: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

May each of our 378 churches throughout the Mountain Sky Conference take John Wesley’s counsel to heart, as we reach out into our communities in life-giving, life-saving ways.