Downward Mobility Molly Baskette Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. Then he took a little child, and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. - Mark 9:35-36 When I was a newly minted seminary grad, I moved to Mexico for a year, to live in voluntary poverty in an orphanage with 140 children, a staff of Mexican social workers, and my equally idealistic boyfriend. I took my meals with the children: when there was enough money, rice and beans and fresh tortillas, occasionally a piece of chicken. When there wasnt enough money, animal crackers and powdered milk. Chayo, the most amiable and affectionate of the social workers, used to sit on the steps outside my bedroom, and pick nits out of the kids hair before braiding it in long, lovely patterns. I made my boyfriend pick nits for me. It was one of the hardest, and best, years of my life. After a year, I moved on. I got a Rev. before my name. The boyfriend became a husband, grateful to be relieved from nit duty. The Rev. eventually became a solo pastor, then a senior minister, with more responsibility and more opportunities. Even when you work for God for a living, theres a kind of corporate ladder. I never lost touch with the orphanage and its children and social workers. This spring, when the mission team from our church returned from their umpteenth visit to the children, they came with a box of love letters for me. One was from Chayo, the nitpicker. Nearly twenty years later, she is still there, letting the kids know by her gentle touch who Jesus is. How wonderful it is, when humans stay in the same job for decades, because the work of their hands makes a real difference in a vulnerable human heart. How wonderful, when compassion trumps ambition. I know who really deserves that love letter. Prayer God, what am I called to do for You in this world of suffering and beauty? You offer us the biggest kind of life—which is not always found by moving onward and upward. Show me the way you have set before me. Amen. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Molly Baskette is senior minister of First Church Somerville UCC in Somerville, MA, and the author of the book Real Good Church: How Our Church Came Back from the Dead and Yours Can Too.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:13:11 +0000
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