Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
In today’s first reading, we see the Apostles ordained the first deacons. It seemed that the Apostles needed help in serving the first Christian community as seen in the neglect of care of the Greek widows. These seven deacons filled the gap in the community’s needs. Likewise, we too are called to serve the needs of our community. We can look at our gifts and the time we have and discern what God is calling us to do and be. At the same time, are we involved in our community? Do we know the problems and issues that exist in the cities and towns we live in?
Volunteering is a way to respond to those questions. I remember when my friends and I volunteered with Catholic Charities when I used to live in Southern California. We helped serve pancake breakfast to the homeless and low income people in the area, providing them food and community. There was another volunteer there named Reggie who was very enthusiastic and had volunteered there for a while. He seemed to know everything that went on including how to make the eggs, bacon, and pancakes just right and who everyone was. He was a military veteran and realized that not all veterans knew the benefits and help they could receive, so he would make an effort to talk to every veteran who came. Like the deacons, he saw a need in the community and helped others. One day after cleaning up, Reggie asked some of my friends to help him. Turns out he was homeless and needed help to move his stuff that he hid behind a dumpster. Someone who we thought should be among those we served breakfast to was actually the most dedicated volunteer. He challenged my notion of what it means to have the capacity to help others and when in our lives God is calling us to be generous.
This reading from Acts and my time at Catholic Charities remind me of the decline in volunteerism and the problem nonprofit organizations have in helping those in need without enough volunteers. Perhaps our lives are more like Reggie’s, focused on surviving and living from one day to the next. However, volunteering and helping the community are opportunities to grow and to see how Jesus is coming to us in the storms of life as in the Gospels. Today’s first reading can help us reflect on our participation in the community and what more we can do.
—Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI