Evidently, the vast majority of Americans believe that the phrase “God helps those who help themselves” comes from the Bible. In fact, it was uttered by the wise old founding father Ben Franklin who, although clever and all that, is hardly a reliable source for Christian social teaching. For Franklin’s witticism is not only non-biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Indeed, it could not be further from the call to service and love that we find in the gospels.
For if we profess to be Christian, we have no choice but to love and care for those around us. And who is “around us?” Who is our neighbor? As the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) teaches us, our neighbor is anyone who is in need. So we must ask ourselves today: Is there anyone in need around us? If we say no, we’re either looking with half-closed eyes or our world is far too narrow.
We are called to make ourselves available to others. In Ignatian spirituality, this is referred to as “apostolic availability.” We must be there for others. We must be the healing and comforting Christ for others. We are called to bring the “good news” of the Gospel to others, but with the knowledge that salvation comes in different forms. We tell of a Jesus who saves and promises life to come, yes. But we are also called to bring the good news of the here and now. I love this from Dean Brackley, SJ:
Jesus proclaims “Good News to the poor.” What is this Good News? Ask the poor — you will get clear and immediate answers: health, shelter, food, opportunity, jobs, education.
The challenge of responding to this call to service is that our lives often make us so UN-available. We fill our lives with so many things — including many good things — that we leave no time to just be available if someone needs us, no time to go looking for someone who might need us, no time to call someone up and say, “do you need anything?”
This is the difference between the Greek ideas of chronos time and kairos time. Chronos time rules our days. It is ordered time — seconds, minutes, hours — and it is a demanding taskmaster from the moment the clock goes off in the morning. It’s necessary, of course. But it is not all. Kairos, on the other hand, lies outside of this sequential time of clocks and calendars. It is the time that slips by in moments of quiet contemplation and prayer. It passes without notice in moments of service to others. It is fleeting in moments of creation and joy, when time seems to stand still. It is time outside of time.
We need chronos, of course, or nothing would run on time and the world would run amok. But we need times of kairos in a chronos world. We need big chunks of time when we’re not watching the clock, when we’re not worried about the next appointment. We need this time to be available to God and available to others. This availability — this love — doesn’t come free or even cheap. It will cost us something. As Sarah Thebarge, author of The Invisible Girls, writes:
Love will cost you dearly.
And it will break your heart.
But in the end, it will save the world.
Ask yourself in silence: To whom can I be available today? What will it cost me? Will it be worth it?
Oh Steve, your words are inspired and you are an inspiration. It is so difficult to give from our nothingness – during those times of sorrow, or emptiness and dryness, as I know first hand and we all experience at one time or another, or many times over. But from those who give to us during those times, who make themselves available – remain “present” to us then, we witness God’s goodness and love first hand, and we gain a deeper understanding of “giving.” I know there is a time for everything, but unless we keep our hearts open to God’s call – unless we take time to listen to Him and ACT, I so agree, we can easily get caught up in time focused only on our own needs/schedules. It is a challenge. Thank you for these soul searching words. God bless! Kathleen