"The human dignity of those who have so little must be protected from the incompetence of the do-gooder."

Greetings friends on the first 50 degree spring day!!! Yea!!! I am feeling like I should be outside but wanted to shoot off a word of encouragement to you as we prepare to enter Holy Week this Sunday.

I just came back from attending the Westminster Town Hall Forum thanks to an invitation from a friend. We heard Jan Egeland, former U.N. Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and currently Special Envoy for Conflict Resolution, speak about his perspective on the global family. Although he has seen human suffering at its worst, he called himself an optimist and shared a few stories of tremendous good news and global statistics indicating that things are getting better slowly for the poorest in many parts of our world. He also shared 10 things that he has learned through his work. I will share a few with you that you can use possibly as preface to your reflections regarding Palm Sunday, holy week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter and what these mean for us today. They are worthy of reflection in all areas of our lives I suspect.

1. Ambitious goals are needed and consistency in follow through is crucial. (The follow-through is one I really must work on!)
2. The wealthy must be more generous. The wealthiest nations give 0.18% to global relief and keep 99.82% for themselves. (How much do I give/How much do I keep for myself?)
3. Speak the truth always. (This is central to understanding the conflict between Jesus and the leaders of his day and a challenge that I must embrace without fear of the conflict or costs)
4. Spend more action on the neglected (remember the beatitudes are not attitudes they are actions!)
5. Be ruthlessly self critical in terms of the quality of our efforts. At this point he said something I will never forget; “The human dignity of those who have so little must be protected from the incompetence of the do-gooder.”

I reflect on this again today in light of the news regarding the governor of New York and the language used by the media in telling the story. He is referred to as “client #9”

We are not always capable of knowing the names of those we seek to help – but if we are capable and don’t take the time – if they are nothing more than “clients” I fear we have not protected their human dignity. The donkey riding, foot washing Jesus always did. He even knows my name and yours! Some things to think about. One on the journey with you – Pastor Jeff