Sowing the Seeds of Love

The Youth Mission Trip to Washington D.C was awesome, challenging and fun.  Seven youth and three adults from St. Barnabas joined 11 youth and three adults from All Saints' Episcopal Church in Morristown, TN (where my family attends) to work with the homeless and/or hungry in our nation's capital.  We worked with an organization called Youth Services Opportunities Project (Y.S.O.P.) that connected us to many different agencies and non-profits that help address the various needs of these at-risk populations. 
We learned some of the causes of homelessness (mental illness, lack of affordable housing, addiction and job loss to name a few) and that regardless of the circumstances, all people deserve the dignity of being treated as a child of God and offered the opportunity to better their lives. Many others may not be homeless, but may not be able to afford food in addition to rent, medication or medical treatment, transportation to and from a job, etc.  
The youth were awesome.  Even getting up early (at least for summer), sometimes having to wear long pants on very hot days (heat index of 105!), and walking for many miles each day, they persevered and lived into being Christ's hands, feet and heart in the world.  They served meals, chopped vegetables, weeded, mowed, cleaned up, washed down, and everything in between that was asked of them.  We navigated the Washington Metro system (some better than others) and had time in the evenings to explore the city as well as the National Cathedral (The Cathedral Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Diocese of Washington). 
This week's Gospel Lesson from Matthew 13 is the Parable of the Sower.  Some seeds fall on good soil and produce fruit.  Others fail to thrive due to various circumstances.  I think about Youth Mission Trips as good soil with the opportunity for those who participate to be nurtured and formed by those experiences.  It may take many years for those experiences to germinate, but they do impact the youth's faith formation in powerful ways, but most of all learning how to be good soil for other people as well as themselves.
However, we can also see the Gospel lesson from the point of view of those whom we served.  It is too easy to "label" some of our clients/guests as being the seeds that failed to thrive.  Given certain circumstances, many of us might find ourselves homeless (natural disaster, fire, medical bills, etc.).  Just like different growing seasons affect the seeds, the same is true about the seasons of our lives.  Sometimes we flourish and other times we wither. How much control do we have over the outcome?  Perhaps more than we want to admit, but what is important is how we respond when we are aware of what is happening - both when we are flourishing or withering.  Do we take the opportunity to give thanks for all that we have in times of plenty?  Do we give thanks for what we have when there is less?  When we are able, do we respond to the needs of others in order to help them know they are not alone?  Can we do it with a smile and an open heart even when they seem ungrateful or rude (as many with mental illness seem to be)?
My deepest prayer for the youth who went on this Mission Trip is that they will think about what they did and learned for their entire lives; that it forms and informs their Christian identity, so that, when the seasons of spiritual draught occur, they will recall this experience and be inspired to seek Christ once again, and sow a few more seeds.
In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+


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