Small things -- with Great Love

I've been reading David James Duncan's new book God Laughs & Plays: Churchless Sermons in Response to the Preachments of the Fundamentalist Right and I've been loving it. In it he quotes Mother Theresa who reminds us that "We can do no great things--only small things, with great love." That got me to thinking about what an important reminder that is in this culture in these days. Jesus told stories about the little and the least all the time. So where do we do that here? When Lent began a tragedy struck in our neighborhood. Two little girls died in a fire at their home on Sunday morning. The gas in their home had been turned off and a fire started from their alternative heating source...and they were killed. At the time I hoped that we wouldn't simply forget them and their lives. A neighbor wrote me and recalled the sense of hospitality and joy that was at the heart of one of those little girls.
We have a radio station -- very small, that two sixth graders, Jordan and McKeith, and their adult advisor, Mr. O use to broadcast interviews with neighbors. Jordan and McKeith both go to Shortridge Middle School where the siblings of the two little girls still go to school. And they know them. McKeith and Mr. O just live a few houses away from the house that burned down. We talked about them interviewing the siblings. They can interview neighbors who knew the little girls and broadcast a show in honor of their lives and spirits. Then I talked with Carmen at the church -- Carmen lives in the neighborhood, too -- and she has some contacts who know the parents. She's going to sit down with them and listen to them talk about their daughters -- who they were, their dreams -- what gifts and talents they had. And then we'll see if something doesn't bubble up from that for our summer program (J-CAMP --Jubilee-Community Arts Multi-Talented People). These two little girls remind me of the importance of each person in the life of our community. They remind me that loving one another is a painful but important thing. They remind me why I'm here.