“In the Russian church certain people call poustinikki would devote themselves to a life of prayer. They would withdraw to the desert poustinia and live in solitude, but not in isolation. The Russian word for solitude means, “being with everybody.” By custom, “the latch was always off the door: as a sign of availability, according to Tilden Edwards. “The poustinik’s priority at any time was his neighbor’s need (which might stretch beyond prayer and counsel to physical labor, as at harvest time).”[i]
This could be called the ministry of availability, acts of secret service, or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of this as the ministry of “active helpfulness”.[ii] Or, as Jesus taught,
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)
True service begins when we no long care if we get the credit, or if anyone is taking notice, or even cares. When we begin to develop this type of disposition, we will suddenly find ourselves growing in awareness, sensitivity, availability and genuine love for those around us. Moreover, as we participate in the acts service, we begin to see more clearly how God has designed us, shaped us, gifted us, and called us with a specific purpose to be expressed in our own generation. Unfortunately, few are they that ever arise to the type of living.
Deeper...
Meditate on the following passage. Underline, circle and take note of the emphasis Jesus places upon attitude, motivation, and secrecy.
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:1-8 NIV)
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:1-8 NIV)
“We have committed the Golden Rule to memory;
let us now commit it to life.”
Markham
“To empty ourselves of our false divinity, to deny ourselves, to give up being the center of the world in imagination, to discern that all points in the world are equally centers and that the true center is outside the world, this is to consent to the rule of . . . free choice at the center of each soul. Such consent is love. The face of this love, which is turned toward thinking persons, is the love or our neighbor.”[iii] --Simone Weil
Your Going to Die
A man went to the doctor after weeks of symptoms. The doctor examined him carefully, then called the patient’s wife into his office. “Your husband is suffering from a rare form of anemia. Without treatment, he’ll be dead in a few weeks. The good news is, it can be treated with proper nutrition.”
“You will need to get up early every morning and fix your husband a hot breakfast—pancakes, bacon and eggs, the works. He’ll need a home-cooked lunch every day, and then an old-fashioned meat-and-potato dinner every evening. It would be especially helpful if you could bake frequently. Cakes, pies, homemade bread—these are the things that will allow your husband to live.
“One more thing. His immune system is weak, so it’s important that your home be kept spotless at all times. Do you have any questions?” The wife had none.
“Do you want to break the news, or shall I?” asked the doctor.
“I will,” the wife replied.
She walked into the exam room. The husband, sensing the seriousness of his illness, asked her, “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “What’s going to happen to me?” he asked.
With a sob, the wife blurted out, “The doctor says you’re gonna die!”[iv]
[i] Tilden Edwards, Soul Friend, (New York: Paulist Press, 1980), 56. Quoted by John Ortberg, Life You’ve Always Wanted, 111.
[ii] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, (New York: Harper & Row, 1956), 91
[iii] Simone Weil, Waiting for God (New York: HarperPerennial Library, 1992), quoted in Ordinary Graces: Christian Teachings on the Interior Life, ed. Lorraine Kisly with an intro. By Philip Zalieski (New York: Bell Tower, 2000), 14.
[iv] Source Unknown.
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