December 4, 2009
The Second Half
Living on hope
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
A quick scan of our computer homepage supplied the following stories: During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, an anonymous donor dropped a South African gold coin worth just over $1,000 into a Salvation Army kettle in Chicago. Homebuilder Dan Phillips of Huntsville, Texas “repurposes” waste materials to create affordable, one-of-a-kind houses that incorporate practicality with art. Last year Quinn Roberts, an 8-year-old girl wrote a letter to Santa asking for a healthy kidney. A family friend donated the kidney.
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, “just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.” The one thing all of the news stories above have in common is that someone used whatever they had to give the gift of hope to someone else. Because of a stranger’s generosity, the Salvation Army will be able to extend a helping hand to a larger number of families. A single mom with two children is now living in one of Dan Phillips’ houses. She believes that without his creativity and good will her family would be living in a crowded one-bedroom apartment. She is one of the many families that have benefited from Phillips’ vision. A little girl and her family can anticipate the future with hope because of the sacrifice of a friend. Through the kindness of individuals we have many stories of hope to counter the avalanche of bad news we face every day.
Scripture, too, is filled with stories of hope that sprang from kindness coupled with creativity. In I Kings 17, a widow shared the little oil and meal she had left for herself and her son with the wandering prophet, Elijah. He gave her hope, and the oil and meal she had did not run out until the famine ended. Ruth gave up her homeland to take care of her mother-in-law Naomi. Through Ruth’s faithfulness came a new marriage and a son who would become the grandfather of King David. An innkeeper who had the kindness to let a poor couple spend the night in his stable gained a share in bringing hope to the world. A boy who gave Jesus five loaves and two fish saw his lunch multiplied to feed 5,000. Often all it takes to pass hope on to someone else is the ability to let go of a little of our time, talent or treasure and let God make of it what he will. What we offer may seem as small as a little oil and meal. Once in a while like the boy with the loaves and fish, God surprises us with spectacular results. Other times, like Ruth or the anonymous innkeeper, we may not be around to see what God makes of our willingness to let go and offer what we can for the good of someone else.
In the words of Hebrews 13:2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” In this season of Advent, we are called to be bearers of hope in word and deed. Large or small, the gift of hope is always priceless.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.