We Lift One Another

It was almost exactly one year ago when I had returned from a trip to Moldova. The trip had been particularly challenging. I had been stunned beyond words, when a prison officer opened a cell door for me, to find babies locked inside. Certainly, I’ve seen worse than this, but nevertheless, it stunned me and it made me feel so very helpless.

My ministry serves not only to raise corporate and personal awareness of the needs of communities and individuals, but to promote personal and corporate responsibility. It could easily be described as making ‘cold calls.’ You ‘knock’ on a lot of doors and you get an incredible amount of them shut in your face and an amazing amount of ‘suggestions’ as to who we should see, or where we might go for help. But you plod on and thankfully, occasionally; someone will take the time to listen and actually do something!

Each of us holds a personal responsibility, not only to ourselves but to our fellow man as well. Likewise, any public business holds a corporate responsibility: to its shareholders, its employees and to the community in which it is based. But I believe businesses, especially international ones, also hold a ‘social responsibility.’ Accordingly, I try to get businesses involved–to help them create projects that effectively change lives for the better.

Just as I am doing during this period of Lent, last year I was reflecting on what I had accomplished as well as failed to accomplish and the idea of sins had come to mind; sins against humanity, sins against the children, the sins of ignoring the plight of others, especially when the message is screaming so loudly at us.

And my thoughts had caused me to type the words ‘corporate sin’ into one of the search engines. I had never used the term before and I don’t think I ever would have thought of it, except for the gnawing feeling of sadness I had over what I had seen and felt. During that same month I had listened to an overabundance of ‘promises’ of what someone was going to do to help. But I instinctively knew that all the promises were nothing but bravado and attempts at self–affirmation.

God reaches out to us in ways we can never imagine. There it was, another priest in America had validated the very same thoughts and reflections I was being so pensive about–the very same things that Lent calls us to reflect upon:

Our sins, not just the sins we commit individually, but the sins we commit as members of groups, or societies, or institutions–here is where the term ‘corporate sin’ applies. It could be those sins where ‘the company’ disregards the good of the people, or disregards the needs of its community. This is why our confessions begin with the word ‘We.’ We confess…

Then there is the sin of omission. Those things which we ought to have done but have found a million excuses to justify our failure to do so. That is our sin of omission.

But what about the sin we commit when we have the power to do things and we simply choose not to? All the good we could do in this world, in our communities, in our businesses and homes simply isn’t done. And there is no reason. Why do we do this?

Lent serves as a time for us to examine ourselves and to ask ourselves:

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  Am I connected with God? What is my relationship with Him and with my spiritual community? And am I doing it humbly and not merely for show?
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  Am I investing in the world around me? Am I joyfully sharing what I have with others, especially strangers?
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  Am I able to easily forgive and turn the other cheek? And do I demonstrate this to others.
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  Am I finding ways to celebrate life, rather than condemning it?
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  Am I nurturing others–family, friends, my community and church?
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  Am I leading rather than following? I am I standing up for others, protecting those who need protecting and defending those who cannot defend themselves?
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  And finally, when our day is finished, am I able to look back and see that all has been good and give thanks to God for all we have.

So, just a note to a distant friend: it's a year on and I have not forgotten you, Canon Rechter. I wish you every success in your ministry. And in my prayers today, I give thanks to God for the words of comfort I found through another one of His children.

.Compassionate God, we acknowledge our sins, weaknesses, omissions, and failures. When our failures discourage us, may Your compassion embrace us and hope lead us through this season of repentance to the joy of Easter. We pray this, in Your name. Amen