Dear Centenarians,
As I was passing through a hotel on a
recent trip, I noticed an attractive poster on the wall with the following
words:
“Do
all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all
the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As
long as ever you can.” John Wesley
Seeing these familiar words by the
founder of the Methodist movement on the wall of a hotel lobby struck me as odd
at first, although I have to admit that it gave me a sense of pride as well.
Then, I realized that a picture of the
globe was imbedded in the center of the poster, recalling to my mind another
well known Wesleyan saying:
“The
world is my parish.”
At that point, it all made sense to
me. You see, the Methodist tradition has always stressed the outward
expressions of one’s Christian faith just as much as one’s inward piety.
In fact, John Wesley started the
Methodist movement during Industrial Revolution-era England precisely because
he believed that Christians of that time were not going beyond the church walls
and ministering to the needs of the people during that time of England’s
history.
From here began Wesley’s practice of
taking communion to workers inside of
the coal mines and to women and children who worked in the sweat shops. Soon to
follow were schools, shelters, hospitals and other ministries that were established by Wesley’s followers.
These were not simply social services, but “means of grace” that exemplified the
ministry of Jesus.
In an ironic twist, seeing that poster
on a hotel wall reminded me of Wesley’s emphasis of living the Christian faith
“beyond the walls,” and out in the world, encountering people in real life
situations and bringing the gospel to them just as Jesus did.
We come to church each week to
worship, but we take what we experience in worship beyond the church walls, out
into the world, which is our true parish.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Mark M. Nakagawa
