I’m awful at receiving gifts. I always wonder if there is a string attached, or an angle being worked. Does this person want something from me? And so I typically respond with a thank you and a promise of reciprocating quickly in some way. It’s weird. I’m working on it.
In the first Chapter of Luke, a teenage girl named Mary goes to her older relative Elizabeth’s house to tell her the craziest thing about an angel that just talked to her about her pregnancy and the situation around it. That would be a lot to process. I think any of us would need a friend to talk to. Elizabeth, full of faith from her own unlikely pregnancy, encourages Mary and tells her that she is blessed. To this, our Mary, who would become the Mother of God, beautifully says in her famous Magnificat:
Then Mary said,
“My soul praises the Lord;
my heart rejoices in God my Savior,
because he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl.
From now on, all people will say that I am blessed,because the Powerful One has done great things for me.
His name is holy.God will show his mercy forever and ever
to those who worship and serve him.He has done mighty deeds by his power.
He has scattered the people who are proud
and think great things about themselves.He has brought down rulers from their thrones
and raised up the humble.He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with nothing.He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,
remembering to show them mercyas he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his children forever.”
Mary’s words remind me of a woman named Dorothy Day. Born in 1897 in Brooklyn, she was a writer and an anarchist that somehow became a Catholic in her adult life. Unlikely, unapologetic, and unorthodox. Dorothy belonged with the original set of disciples. A woman born out of her time, she changed the world. While chain smoking cigarettes and practicing civil disobedience — you need to know this woman is on track to become a saint in the Catholic church — Dorothy founded the Catholic Worker movement.
The Catholic Worker movement in 140 words:
The Catholic Worker Movement began simply enough on May 1, 1933, when a journalist named Dorothy Day and a philosopher named Peter Maurin teamed up to publish and distribute a newspaper called “The Catholic Worker.” This radical paper promoted the biblical promise of justice and mercy.
Grounded in a firm belief in the God-given dignity of every human person, their movement was committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and the Works of Mercy as a way of life. It wasn’t long before Dorothy and Peter were putting their beliefs into action, opening a “house of hospitality” where the homeless, the hungry, and the forsaken would always be welcome.
Over many decades the movement has protested injustice, war, and violence of all forms. Today there are some 228 Catholic Worker communities in the United States and in countries around the world.
The movement embraces the works of mercy as an antidote to the works of war. Rita Corbin illustrated it this way:
Those are the corporal works of mercy. There are also the spiritual works of mercy for us to pause and consider as well. These are gifts also worth giving this holiday season:
To instruct the ignorant.
To counsel the doubtful.
To admonish the sinners.
To bear patiently those who wrong us.
To forgive offenses.
To comfort the afflicted.
To pray for the living and the dead.
My limited gift receiving capacity was tested this week. Kelly and I had a date night set up for Friday night and our childcare fell through. On Saturday, we were sharing the story in passing with some friends and they immediately offered to pick our kids up from daycare on Monday, feed them dinner, and host a playdate with their kids. Kelly and I went out and spent a wonderful time together. As we picked up our kids and thanked our friends for their generosity, I couldn’t help but say things like “oh, we will obviously do this for you guys sometime…” Not once. But at least two or three times. Each comment was met with kind smiles. They were just giving us a gift. Just receive it, Adam. I’m working on that.
Hospitality towards the margins. Active love. Remembering that as God has given us mercy, there are tangible ways for us to give mercy to the world.
May you and I remember to show mercy to each other, to our neighbors, and to the world this year.