It's Not Just a Job!

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Catholic Nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity (1910-1997)

The line of homeless people stretched the length of the serving table continuing out the door of the parish center. They went unnoticed by me. I was practicing pressing a #4 scoop against the side of a metal bowl so as to fill the delivery compartment completely. When the proper pressure was applied the 3 1/4 oz. scoop dispensed a perfect dome of mash potatoes. After its ejection onto the plate all that was needed was a ladle of gravy and the plate was good to go.

When I wasn’t scooping mashed potatoes my fellow servers were entertained with my clever anecdotes and stories which were always a bit too long. Only occasionally did I make eye contact with one of our “customers” (“our homeless friends” the ministry head called them). Even when I responded to their “hello” or “thank you” my focus was on the task of making the perfect mashed potato mound.

But heh, I was doing God’s work, right? Serving the poor, helping the homeless and I could tell everybody about it at lunch the next day. In the midst of my personal euphoria, Brian appeared. (Deacon Brian is an old friend). “Jim, how’s it going?” “Great!” I responded. “Here’s another person who will think I’m a good guy” I mused delivering another picture perfect pile of starch.

“I need you to do something for me” Brian continued. “What is it? I’m pretty busy right now,” I replied, not wanting to give up my well practiced position. “Give the scoop to the Cub Scout over there; he can handle your job.” Reluctantly relinquishing the scoop I followed Brian down the table toward the desserts, turning only once; just in time to see the scout plop a misshapen glob of potatoes on someone’s plate. I winced, then turned and followed Brian into the kitchen.

“What’s the job you have for me” I asked with a grin. “Get yourself a plate of food, then go out and sit down at a table and eat.” He could tell I was puzzled…eating a plate of food wasn’t ministry. “What’s the deal?” I asked. “The deal is you have to sit at a table with homeless people and eat dinner.” Again, he read my face. “One of the most important things we do here is treat our guests like…guests.” “If people avoid them by not sitting with them, they still sense the alienation they felt before they came in here.” “Your job is to make them feel welcome.” I stared at Brian for a moment, then reluctantly grabbed a foam plate from the counter, dished some food into it from the pots on the stove, and purposefully walked directly past Brian into the dining area.

Quickly scanning the room I located what appeared to be the “friendliest” table. Taking a deep breath I headed for it, glancing only briefly at the Cub Scout with the poor scooping technique. “Is anyone sitting here?” I asked, hoping they would say yes. A grizzled old face, framed with long white hair, and topped with a weather beaten, leather, broad brimmed hat, stared up at me through watery eyes. “We were sav’n it for you,” he said with a dingy smile and a throaty chuckle. For the next hour the man and his female companion shared their lives with me.

They were brother and sister, which clarified my first wrong assumption; one of many I would make that evening. A series of unfortunate events: lost jobs, illness coupled with no medical coverage had resulted in them losing their family home. They did odd jobs where and when they could. Thanks to the kindness and discretion of a local business owner, their current residence was a vacant storage compartment at a “U Store It” facility. They instructed me where to find the best price on food. Did you know the 99 Cent Store has a frozen food section? I also discovered two pairs of new socks and a well worn backpack were their most coveted possessions.

Finally it was time for them to go. They needed to get to their “sleeping place” before dark. “Thank you Mister,” the old fellow said. “For what?” I asked. “For break’n bread with us,” he responded simply. They hugged me and left.

I turned to see Deacon Brian leaning against the doorway to the kitchen; arms crossed and a smile on his face. The serving table was cleared and the Cub Scout (scoop, mashed potatoes and all) was gone; as were my misconceptions.

There is a big difference between performing job duties and doing ministry. In our ministerial world we have begun to adopt techniques from the secular business environment which make us more efficient in doing our “sacred business”. Computers, copy machines, cell phones have made us more efficient, but have they made us more effective?

There is an inherent danger when we try to run a ministry like a business. Jobs, for the most part, are task or process oriented. They are focused on activities. The three variables are simple: How fast? How well? And, for how much? Efficiency is not a bad thing; it helps us do more with less. But God calls us to be effective as well.

Running a dinner for the homeless it is easy to become focused on how many people are fed, how quickly they are fed and, as in my case, the appearance or quality of the food…but is this really ministry? The word “ministry” comes from the Latin word “ministerium” which means servant. There is a difference between simply feeding someone and serving them. There is a difference between fulfilling a person’s bodily requirements and being attentive to their “other” needs. In ministry we are called to something more…to function at a deeper level…to serve the whole person.

When I stopped shoveling food and started engaging our “homeless friends,” one-on-one, things changed for me. It was the seminal moment where ministry began. Serving food was important, but the meal became a vehicle for something much more important…developing community. It was not simply about doing right things (feeding a homeless person) it was also about doing things right (serving a fellow human being, one of God’s children, in need).

To serve means to be attentive and engaged: even the most mundane tasks can be a vehicle for great service; for giving of ourselves. And when we give much, in turn we receive more. Good stewards know we do not receive in order that we might give. Rather, we give so that we might receive. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said, “Do small things with great love.” I know of no better definition of ministry.

Dear God: Teach me to serve the real needs of others.

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Catholic Nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity (1910-1997)

© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

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