I have to be honest with you. I’ve spent most of my life pretty much in ignorance when it comes to Catholicism and the basic beliefs of the Catholic church. I’ve heard people say things from Catholics aren’t Christians, to the totally other end, that Catholics believe the same things Christians do. This has been one of those discussions that I’ve stayed out of because I’m sure I know just as many “Christians” that go to church that I may not be seeing in heaven. Either way, I’ve always taken the stance that labels, denominations, and theologies don’t save us, Jesus does.
One person that has been crucial in opening my eyes to this topic is Claire. She makes no bones about it that she’s a proud, Catholic woman that will be in heaven one day because of what Jesus has done for her. Her salvation isn’t based on her works, her prayers, or her liturgies, it’s solely founded on Jesus and his redemptive grace. So far, I don’t have anything to argue with. One defining moment in our friendship was when I posted an article on Catholicism and all the different faces of it I’ve seen throughout the world, and Claire sent me a message, inviting me to join her one Sunday. I still haven’t had the chance to go, but it was the first time it had crossed my mind.
Today, I was able to sit down and catch up with Claire after close to a year. Our conversation eventually turned to the tornadoes, but it always worked itself back to the climate of this city. For Claire, Tuscaloosa will always be home and she’s never been prouder of her city. Again, I don’t have anything to argue with on this one either. Tuscaloosa has responded in such an incredible way that it has been a blessing to see. We’ve truly walked onto a mission field just by leaving our front step and people have stepped up to serve their neighbor. Whenever I used to hear the phrase, “Why would I go overseas when there’s plenty of work here?” I was a little cynical and often wanted to fire back, “Well what have you done this past week with “plenty” of work to do?” For once, I’ve been able to see people respond to the things they’ve seen.
One thing Claire and I talked about was the fact that their comment isn’t wrong. There is plenty of work to do here, tornado aside, but we’re doing very little of it. Unfortunately for us, it took this tornado to get us moving. I don’t believe that all people need to sell everything and live with the poor, but I do believe everyone at least needs to sell something and go visit the poor. Changing our context is often what opens our eyes to the needs of our neighbors when we return home. Mission trips aren’t about saving the world, they’re about opening your eyes and getting you to respond. I think visiting and serving Tuscaloosa now, just like New Orleans a few years ago, can have just as big of an impact as doing the same in the Philippines, Mexico, or any other country. Sometimes it just takes leaving the couch, not necessarily the country.
If you don’t hear or remember anything I’ve ever written, remember this: MISSION WORK IS EASY. Once you start with even the simplest tasks of serving your neighbors, visiting the poor, or feeding the hungry, you can’t get enough. Sure, logistics and money eventually become a factor, but they’re no longer deterrents, they’re just obstacles. Everything surrounding the actual work is the hard part. The getting up and going, raising the money, knowing where to go, knowing what to do, making the initial contact, these are the things that are hard. If these are the only things we ever look at and the only answers we ever search for, then we’ll remain in our seats. But if we walk into the rubble and see someone digging their life out, our only response is to give them another extra pair of hands. We’ll respond to what we see. Unfortunately, we don’t allow ourselves to see much outside of the infomercials with all the sad pictures.
Claire has a ton of pride and love for her city. Her passion is for this town. This should be her mission field. The most exciting part of that, is that it already is. Claire sees this town differently than most of the average residents because this is more than just a hometown to her. We’re called to go out into the world and preach the Gospel and make disciples. Tuscaloosa is still part of the world (just like your hometown), so we’re called to preach the Gospel and make disciples here. It’s not just for pastors anymore. It never really was…
