Eventually we would settle down for breakfast in his dining room (yes, the fresh-squeezed orange juice flowed freely).  Even before I got around to making my assigned ask for a gift of $5,000 he handed me an envelope.  “Go ahead,” he said, “open it.”  Well, despite my fancy suit I gave myself away in an instant.  My eyes grew big as I looked at the check, then the donor, then the check (again).  His gift was for $50,000 – not the meager amount I anticipated.

As he drove me in the cart back to my car, he waved to his orange groves and asked, “Do you know what makes me happy?  It’s not this (as we sped by countless fruit-laden trees).  It’s when I give it away.  You see, that’s the only way to be happy, to be free.”

I thought of this story when I read the verse and the prayer in today’s Lenten devotional.  God has blessed each of us with so much, in so many ways.  In fact, we are such a blessed people we can become prisoners of those blessings always trying to conserve, protect, and increase what God has given.

The lesson I learned that day in the orange groves is that our lives and hearts can only find freedom in things – in our blessings and gifts – when we give them away to help others.

My donor friend knew this.  When I got back home there was a carton of fresh Florida oranges waiting for me on my doorstep.

When I leave work I gulp in as much sunlight and warmth as possible before descending into the dark dampness of the subway to start my ride home.  Now, instead of gulping in glorious ‘nature’ I’m more prone to hold my breath, close my eyes, and wait.  In just a matter of minutes I know we’ll emerge back into the light.

Today’s verse in the daily Lenten devotional implies that – while this is o.k. for a commute – once we discover how to walk in the light of Jesus’ way, he never wants us to go back into the darkness again.  Ever.

Maybe that’s what makes the short time in the darkness of the subway so tolerable.  I know it’s temporary.

The next time you find yourself in darkness, remember that it’s temporary.  God doesn’t want you there.  Call out to the same God who “sustained your ancient people in the wilderness with…food that endures.”  He will deliver you to where He wanted you all along.  In the light.

When I read the verse from Zephaniah in today’s Lenten daily devotion, it struck me: these promises are not waiting for me when I arrive in heaven.  Or, for some time in the next months, or years, when I find myself in trouble and need to use them as if using a Get Out of Jail Free card in Monopoly.

No, when I basked in the gorgeous singing at the Cathedral that evening I realized God wants to do all these things for me now…He wants to ‘rejoice over me with singing’ today.

And, frankly, I couldn’t think of a time when I needed these promises more.  You?

A teacher at this particular Chicago Public High School seemed anxious and worried. “Can you please see one of my students?  Another student said she was talking about killing herself.”

Within minutes the Youth Guidance counselor was sitting with the girl who, indeed, was suicidal over failed relationships, poor school performance, and family issues.  The counselor helped the girl identify the source of her despair, and that suicide was not the answer.  She asked the relieved girl to check in the next morning, gave her a hug, and made sure she had friends with her for the walk home.

The next morning one of the girl’s friends knocked on the counselor’s door.  She handed a rope to the counselor.  “I found this under her bed.  It’s the rope she was going to use to kill herself.”

Not all interventions by Youth Guidance are this dramatic.  Most are very positive, from Becoming a Man meetings to after-school tutoring.  But, this true story makes two important points. First, what a blessing it is to have professionally trained, caring Youth Guidance counselors in more than 30 Chicago Public High Schools.  Second, what an amazing God we have who, as today’s verse from Psalm 145 says, lifts us up when we are discouraged, afflicted…falling.

This Lent, give thanks for the times when God has lifted you up to live confidently while ‘bowing down’ in worship.

Yes, mission statements are that important.  Helping people begin to discover their personal mission statement is a key part of our estate planning presentation, My Living Legacy.  Of all the questions we ask, the most important one is, “Why?”

Discovering your purpose will help you answer that question each day for the rest of your life.  Why should I give to this charity? Why should I volunteer on that board? Why should I get involved instead of staying on the sidelines? Why should I do something that doesn’t make sense to other people but I know it’s the right thing to do?

I’ve seen many good personal mission statements and, on occasion, great ones.  But the greatest of all comes from Jesus of Nazareth and it’s the verse in today’s Lenten devotion, “I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”

I love it’s simplicity.  While broad, it also has specificity that leaves no doubt why Jesus came.  But, what helps set Jesus’ mission apart from all others is how he fulfilled it.

As you consider your purpose during this Lenten season, use these 40 days to consider how to fulfill your purpose.  As you do, you’ll discover a new sense of meaning that will guide you for the rest of your life.

Our prayer for today appeals to our Lord’s “unfailing love.”  It is a love that we can’t live without.  Holy Family makes a difference by reminding boys and girls of that love.

Faith takes what God has given; hope expects what He has promised. Faith rests in holy tranquility in God’s statements about the past; hope goes forth in active longings after the future. Faith is a recipient; hope an expectant. Now, it will be found that, in proportion to the vigour of faith, will be the vigour of hope.

If we be not “fully persuaded that what God has promised, He is able also to perform,” we shall know but little of the power or energy of hope. If faith be wavering, hope will be flickering. On the contrary, if faith be strong, hope will be strong also; for faith, while it nourishes and strengthens the persuasion, imparts strength and intensity to the expectation.

Charles Herbert Mackintosh (May 13, 1843 – December 22, 1931)

I know I’m part of God’s family – and you are, too – but, frankly, it’s more than a little unsettling to think that my brothers and sisters include the naked, homeless, imprisoned, hungry, and thirsty.  See, I’ve sat on the other side of the el car to avoid sitting too close to them.  Now, Jesus is saying they’ll spend eternity with me?

Actually, this parable is not about eternity – it’s about today.  Jesus challenges us to see people who live in the shadows of our society – not as some foreign race of people on a different journey – but as brothers and sisters in need.  If, as Jesus says, they are his family – our family – why would we not want to help them?

I know the answer to that question.  But, it’s hard.

I need to go pray…

What’s interesting to me is that the verse in Jeremiah is the only place in the Bible I found that actually tells us what this ubiquitous phrase means.  And, guess what, it doesn’t have anything to do with how much (or loudly) I pray, how much scripture I can quote, what offices I hold (or have held) at church, how much I pledge, how I feel about God, or even if I go to church at all.

God says to you and me through Jeremiah, “If you say you know Me, then defend the cause of the poor and needy.”  Period.

For more than 50 years Episcopal Charities and Community Services has helped fill this role in the Diocese of Chicago.  In addition to the dollars we allocate to ministry partners (more than $12 million in unrestricted funding over the last 10 years), ECCS has been a voice for the voiceless, especially for those who live in the shadows of our society and are homeless, addicted, formerly incarcerated, mentally ill, physically ill, lonely, abused, troubled, and much more.

And, for nearly 150 years Lawrence Hall Youth Services – the ministry partner featured in today’s devotional – has been a defender of Chicago’s youth, especially those who have experienced the most severe forms of abuse.

There are many people in our Diocese who know God and, although they may never use those words, show it by making sure Episcopal Charities and its partners, like Lawrence Hall, always are there to defend the powerless, poor, and needy.

The graduating class prepared a lunchtime feast, including cake with a delectable lemon icing.   Not only was this piece of cake delicious, but it was also the product of hard work, of faith in people, and of hope for a different future.  There was no way I could resist.

If you’ve managed to stick with your Lenten obligation, then congratulations on your feat of self-discipline.  If you haven’t, then congratulations on learning an important lesson of salvation found in our own Book of Common Prayer: “we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves.”