The following meditation was written by Rev. Dr. Michael B. Brown, Pastor of Blowing Rock Methodist Church in North Carolina.
“Peter said, ‘I don’t have any money, but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk!’” Acts 3:6 (Common English Bible)
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”[1] Those words of Frederick Buechner speak about the happy marriage between personal joy and sacred purpose.
I sometimes ask the students in my university classes to share aloud something they enjoy doing. The answers are as wide and varied as one would expect. “I enjoy playing the guitar.” “I enjoy hiking.” “I enjoy reading.” “I enjoy gardening.” “I enjoy tennis.” “I enjoy just hanging out with my friends.” “I enjoy going to the gym.” I keep waiting for some student to respond someday, “I enjoy taking this class.”
After they have given their answers to the first question, I return to each student and ask a second one: “How can what you said you love doing be of service to the world?” Usually, the answers to that question come more slowly. Some will just shrug their shoulders and reply, “Beats me!” But others will respond thoughtfully. The one who loves playing the guitar will ponder and, at last, begin to imagine accompanying singers in a worship service or entertaining residents in a nursing care facility. The one who enjoys reading will reply that she could tutor elementary school children or volunteer in a library. The one who loves working out at the gym begins to talk of volunteering at a rehab center to assist people going through PT. The one who enjoys just hanging out with friends confesses that he could be a more supportive companion or a more empathic listener. Where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
Peter and John were going into the Temple in Jerusalem at 3:00 in the afternoon. At the Gate called Beautiful, they encountered a man who had been crippled since birth. He had been carried to the Temple, presumably by friends or family, in order to ask worshipers for financial assistance. When Peter and John were walking through the gate, the man called out for a gift. Peter replied with words that we clergy have been using ever since: “I don’t have any money!” (Apologies – I just couldn’t resist.) “I don’t have any money,” Peter said, “but I will give you what I do have.” Thereupon, he dove headlong into his deepest passion, which was telling others about Jesus. “At once his (the lame beggar’s) feet and ankles became strong. Jumping up, he began to walk around. He entered the Temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:1-10) The source of deep gladness for the disciples met the deep hunger of the crippled man, and joy and praise were the results.
Happiness (in the broad sense of the word, i.e., discovering meaning and fulfillment) comes from an experience of accomplishing a noble or sacred purpose. There are things I enjoy doing that also meet the needs of others. Connect the dots. It’s a simple and foolproof prescription for happiness. Such as I have, I give. What I enjoy, I share with others. And when that enhances their lives, all parties find reason for “walking, leaping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:9)
Sit with my students for a moment. Listen to the questions and ponder: “What do you enjoy doing?” “How can that be of service to the world?”
Joy,
[1] Buechner, Frederick. Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (New York: Harper & Row, 1973), p. 95.
Nurture Faith with Dr. Doug Hood 