The chef who feeds the hungry mentions at the end how in his orthodox Brahmin tradition, he is not supposed to touch, feed, or interact with these people. I love the simplicity which he uses to rise above those walls. Sometimes I find myself at a loss for knowing what to do because I get tripped up in words. But Jesus’ teachings are about living :-) It’s so lovely to see how happy this man is in his service! I love the respect which he shows everyone he is serving.

I live in a small community in WA State and every year we self-organize to provide health and human services at a one-day event for the benefit of our homeless neighbors.  It is part of a larger effort to end homelessness locally.  Every year we observe the same miracles and wonders take place as people from all walks of life show up to offer hospitality, or deliver service for the day, or get help along the road to a better life.

When I meet someone (maybe a homeless guest or a community volunteer or service provider) months after an event, more often than not I hear their account of a life transformed ~ eyes openned, respect offered and received, help accepted, equity, mutual regard, affection expressed, etc.  There are many other examples of this force shaping our experience every day, but each one is about Love being reflected in love as Mrs. Eddy would say.

A few weeks ago I was working with a group of people on a project. At one point some of the people turned on me and were on the attack, and the others in the group weren’t supporting me. It was hard not to take it personally, so I got angry, hurt and bitter. I was supposed to work with these people for two more months and I was miserable. And as is my habit, I was thinking about quitting the group and putting those people behind me. This time I decided to do something else. I didn’t know how to change my feelings, they seemed so real and powerful. It came to me to look at the Radical Acts website. I looked at all the acts and decided to pick the one that made me the most uncomfortable, rationalizing that that was probably where I needed the most improvement. So I started reading Alex Cook’s post in Wash Someone’s Feet. He says, “ ‘dirt on feet’ is all the fear, hatred, and grossness that come with believing we’re separate from God. Only … Love can wash away the belief of separateness, in me and in others… I’m going to have to shut down my willingness to be mad and frustrated. Because it’s those very situations that require tender cleaning more than others.” And suddenly I wasn’t mad anymore, I was so filled with love for these people that all I wanted to do was apologize for my seeing them as anything less that God’s beloved. Of course they let the whole thing go. We went on to have one of the most fulfilling events of my life, loving and supporting each other the whole time. I have literally been transformed by this experience with the Radical Acts site.