An excerpt from From Our Christian Heritage
by C. Douglas Weaver, editor

Mother Teresa, Catholic Nun of India (b. 1910)

1950A Those of us who live in the Western world often become entrapped by our own warped sense of value and success. We have mistakenly bought into the idea that riches will buy happiness and peace of mind. The Bible, however, truthfully acknowledges that "no one can serve two masters."

Mother Teresa of India has explored the very depths of poverty in her work among the poor, and yet she asserts that in contrast to the beggars, "the rich [are] much poorer ...They always need something more."98 Perhaps someday, we will learn that more is not best and that peace and contentment do not bear a price tag. (Matt 6:24) (Spiritual Poverty, Materialism) (DMW)

1950B In an interview with Time magazine, Mother Teresa spoke of her ministry to the poor and disenfranchised citizens of Calcutta. During the course of the interview, Mother Teresa was asked if she possessed extraordinary spiritual qualities that enabled her to work with those whom society has rejected. She said, "I don't think so. I don't claim anything of the work. It is his work. 1 am like a little pencil in his hand. That's all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used."

In God's hands, what kind of pencils are we? To borrow from Jeremiah's imagery, what kind of clay are we? Are we respondent to the shaping of the Potter's hands? Are we allowing God to do through US that task for which we were created? Mother Teresa was right. For those who are obedient to God's voice, we indeed become "pencils in the hands of God." (Jer 18:6) (Humility, Obedience) (DMW)

1950C A Priest asked Mother Teresa how to live out 1 its vocation as a priest. She responded in what is wise counsel for any of us: "Spend one hour a day in adoration of your Lord and never do anything you know is wrong, and you will be all right." (1 Thess 5:15 22) (Christian Lifestyle, Worship) (JAW)

1950D For more than four decades Mother Teresa has worked in the slums of Calcutta, India, whose inhabitants are among the most forsaken people on earth. The dispossessed, the diseased, the desperate are the kinds of folks she encounters every day. And yet, almost everyone who meets Mother Teresa remarks on her warm smile. How, after so many years of working in conditions of utmost poverty and misery, does she keep a warm smile on her face? She says that at age eighteen she left her native Yugoslavia to become a Christian servant. She remembers, "When I was leaving home, my mother told me something beautiful and very strange. She said, 'You go put your hand in Jesus' hand and walk along with him." That has been the secret of Mother Teresa's warm and generous spirit ever since. (Col 3:12) (Generosity, Happiness) (JLR)

1950E A native of Yugoslavia, Mother Teresa was nurtured in the faith by the Jesuits. Since the Jesuits of Yugoslavia had a mission in Bengal, Mother Teresa grew up with a special interest in India. When she began her ministry in 1929, Mother Teresa was a teacher of geography at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. The difference in lifestyle in the comfortable convent and the harsh realities of the peasant's world gnawed at her. After seventeen years, Mother Teresa requested release from the convent. She desired not only to teach the poor, she wanted to live among them. A school for the poor was begun and, as a testimony to her character and commitment, the first ten "sisters" to join her mission to the poor were young women whom she had first taught geography at St. Mary's. Mother Teresa believed that her calling was to minister to the needs of the disadvantaged, whatever form that ministry might take. She worked among the poorest of the poor, ministering to lepers, abandoned children, and the dying. Originally she had no intention of focusing on the needs of the dying; nevertheless, she felt God leading her to start "The Home for the Dying."

One day Mother Teresa saw an elderly woman near death, suffering terribly and lying in the marketplace. Like St. Francis centuries before her, she was moved by the horrible sight and smell of the woman who was covered with ants and rats. Mother Teresa picked her up and went to the hospital. The hospital knew that nothing could save the woman but did not want to turn away the compassionate nun. Suddenly, or providentially in the mind of Mother Teresa, she was offered the use of a dharmsala, a pillared hail used by religious pilgrims that was a part of a vacant Hindu temple. The old woman died there with the dignity Mother Teresa provided for her.

The Home for the Dying was a new ministry. Only the sick with no chance of regaining their health were admitted. The home was a place to spend one's last hours in dignity and surrounded by love. Cyril Davey commented, "It was typical of Mother Teresa's special sort of compassion that she should start a home for those who had no hope." In the former home of Kali, the Hindu destroyer goddess, Mother Teresa offered life. (Ps 117; Isa 63:7; Gal 5:22; Phil 2:1 4) (Compassion, Dying, Poverty) (CDW)

Theophane the Monk, Cistercian Monk (20th cent.)

1951 There is a story of a monk to whom many came for counsel, but who would never give anyone direct advice. He would only pose a question. One day a parish priest came to see him and said, "I'm here on retreat. Could you give me a question?" The monk replied, "Ah, yes. My question is: What do they need?" The priest went away disappointed, but spent a few hours wrestling with the question, writing out various answers. Finally, though, he went back to the monk. "Excuse me," he said, "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. When I asked you for a question, 1 wasn't really thinking about my parishioners. Could you give a new question for my own spiritual life?" "Ah, I see," he said. "In that case my question is: What do they really need?" (Isa 58:1 12) (Ministry, Spirituality) (AMM)

James Mitts Thoburn, Methodist Missionary to India (1836 - 1922)

1952 James Thoburn was a pioneer Methodist missionary. He helped to establish Methodist work in Burma, Malaysia, and the Philippines. One day he was walking down the street near his Indian mission when a large eagle feather floated out of the sky in front of him. He looked for the eagle but did not see him. Turning his attention to the feather, Thoburn thought it looked like one of the pens used during the colonial era to sign now famous historical documents. He became curious to see if his feather would write, so he got a knife and cut the heavy end of the feather. It worked! The pen wrote so beautifully that Thoburn immediately went to work on a letter to his sister, Isabella, back in Boston.

He had been mulling over a burden in his mind and was convicted to ask his sister if she would come to India and start a school for neglected and mistreated Indian women and girls. Thoburn told Isabella, "You are a schoolteacher. Although you are excellent, there are thousands of others in America who could take your place. Why don't you come over here and start a school for the girls and women who come to my compound to church?" The Women's Missionary Society in Isabella's church promised financial support. She went and organized the school. 104 (Prov 29:18; Matt 15:34; Luke 19:17) (Little Things, Missions) (CDW)

Howard Thurman, African American Minister (1900 - 1981)

1953 One of my recent discoveries has been the writings of Howard Thurman. Thurman died in 1981, after a long career as a black minister, philosopher, educator, and spiritual writer. There are many things about his life and writings worth noting, but he summed up his life by calling his autobiography,With Head and Heart. That is a powerful, yet simple, phrase suggesting how we ought to struggle to know God.

Some fundamentalist Christians seem to ignore the mind and imply that only feeling matters. Don't question your faith; just accept it and feel it. Some liberal Christians seem to ignore the heart and suggest that an intellectual grasp of and grappling with the faith matters. Don't show your faith too emotionally; just analyze and understand it. Some Christians are in both camps, but the best of the Christian tradition, like Thurman, has realized that the truth is on the "golden mean." Not one or the other, but both with head and heart.

Just about everything we do as church could be improved by doing it "with head and heart." Knowing, loving, worshiping Godwith head and heart. Singing about, teaching about, preaching about God with head and heart. Praying to God with head and heart. For what it's worth, if I were looking for a new preacher, I'd ask, "Does she (or he) understand and preach the gospel with head and heart?" If I were looking for a new church, I'd ask, "Do they worship in a manner that both stretches my mind and warms my heart?" If I were suggesting to someone how to begin or renew the spiritual life, I'd quote Jesus: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your soul, and all your strength." That's how Jesus summed up the "great commandment." It's how Thurman summed up his life. It also sums up how the church ought to perform its ministry. (Mark 12:28 34) (Head and Heart, Ministry) (AMM)

Paul Tillich, Protestant Theologian (1886 - 1965)

1954 A popular legend about the theologian Paul Tillich recounts that he had just lectured on the authority of scripture when a seminary student, gripping tightly in his hand a large, black, leather bound Bible, approached him. The student demanded, "Do you believe this is the Word of God?" Tillich looked at the student's fingers clutching the book, and he said, "Not if you think you can grasp it. Only when the Bible grasps you. (2 Tim 3:16 17; Heb 4:12 13) (Bible) (JAW)

George W. Truett, Texas and Southern Baptist Leader (1867 - 1944)

1955 Oftentimes crises become life changing experiences. As we face these challenges, we can find strength through God in our moments of weakness. In 1898, George W. Truett, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, was quail hunting with some friends, including J. C. Arnold, the chief of police in Dallas. As the men returned from hunting one evening, Truett shifted his gun from one arm to the other. In the process, the gun accidentally discharged, and a load of buckshot struck Arnold in the leg. Although the wound was not serious, Arnold died five days later as a result of complications. Truett was heartbroken, feeling that his carelessness had led to the death of a friend.

A few days after Arnold's death, Truett told his wife that he would never preach again. After a sleepless week, Truett found himself pacing the floor late on a Saturday night still grieving over the incident. When he finallyfell asleep, Truett dreamed that Jesus was standing before him saying, "Be not afraid. You are my man from now on." Truett was never the same. On Sunday morning word spread quickly that Truett would address the congregation. Neighboring churches, including Methodists and Presbyterians, dismissed their servicesworship with First Baptist. According to one eyewitness, when Truett rose to speak, "His face was drawn, and his eyes were so sad. When he stood to preach, he remained silent for a long moment. You could have heard a pin drop. When he began, somehow he sounded different. His voice! I shall never forget his voice that morning, as we heard for the first time the note of sadness and pathos which later we came to know so well. It seemed to carry the burden of all the grief in the world."

Truett was pastor of that church for another forty five years. During those years no one could come to him with a greater sorrow than his own. Truett's ability to help people in trouble, as well as his power in the pulpit, was born out of tragedy. In his time of greatest sorrow he found the greatest strength. (2 Cor 1:3 7; 12:7 10) (Death, Grief, Life Changing Experience, Loss, Sorrow, Strength) (AJL)

Desmond Tutu, South African Bishop (b.1931)

1956A Desmond Tutu, the archbishop of Cape Town,was born to Zachariah and Aletta Tutu in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, South Africa, 7 October 1931. He was a black man born into the racist socioeconomic power structure of South Africa. He was born into apartheid. In the face of overwhelming circumstances Desmond Tutu fought back. As a black man in South Africa, his life would naturally take a path of segregation, that is, if he had not risen above his situation.

Tutu excelled in academics and was presented with the option of going to medical college. He chose an alternate path and studied to become a teacher. He began teaching high school at Western High School in Sophiatown, Johannesburg. Between 1958 and 1960, Tutu attended college once again, but this degree would change the course of his life. He received a licentiate in theology and was ordained as a deacon in the Anglican Church. In 1961, he was ordained as a priest. Tutu continued his education, and in 1966, he received a master in theology degree. He returned to teaching, but now he taught theology at a variety of South African schools. Tutu was elected bishop of Lesotho in 1976, and in 1984, he was elected bishop of Johannesburg and also received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1986, he was elected archbishop of Cape Town. He had reached a position reserved only for the whites in South Africa.

At his enthronement ceremony, Tutu faced opposition from whites. One women laid a wreath at the steps m the church in an act of mourning for the loss of her church to the blacks; other whites simply left the church. Tutu used his church position to work for equality. During his address at the enthronement ceremony he commented on the president of South Africa, P. W. Botha: "Whether I like it or not, whether he likes it or not, P. W. Botha is my brother, and I must desire and pray for the best for him." That statement echoes the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-44.

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

After a life of segregation and apartheid, Desmond Tutu was able to call P. W. Botha brother, the very man who was head of the oppressive government of South Africa. He prayed for the best for the leader of the government who had treated his people as animals. (Matt 5:43 44; Rom 5:10; Col 1:21 23) (Love of Enemies, Overcoming Background, Race, Reconciliation) (JTD)

1956B In the late 1980s, Ted Koppel asked Bishop Desmond Tutu on "Nightline," the nightly news program, if the situation in South Africa, with its apartheid or racial segregation, was hopeless. Tutu replied, "Of course it is hopeless from a human point of view. But we believe in the resurrection, and so we are prisoners of hope."

Prisoners of hope indeed an arresting image. We do not desperately clutch at hope. In the resurrection we have been taken captive by the hope that will never release us but will liberate us from all hopelessness. (Ps 42:5; Zech 9:12; 1 Cor 15:19 22; 1 Thess 4:13 18; 1 Pet 1:3 7) (Hope, Race, Resurrection) (JAW)

Georgi Vins, Russian Baptist Leader (b. 1928)

1957 Georgi Vins, like many other Christians, discovered that practicing his faith was very difficult under communism. in Russia. Vins disagreed with some of his Baptist friends.

They believed it was better to practice their faith under the guidelines that required approval by the communist government. Vins believed that the only faith was a free faith. He and others determined to practice their faith freely regardless of the cost.

The Soviet government did not tolerate religious groups they could not control. As a consequence, Vins and other underground Baptists spent many months in bleak, isolated prisons at hard labor with meager rations. Each time Vins was freed, he continued to preach without approval, print materials without approval, and organize new groups of Baptists. Without fail, the authorities found him and returned him to prison.

In 1979, Georgi Vins was spirited out of Russia with three other prisoners to freedom in the United States in Jimmy Carter's exchange of prisoners. Only then did he know complete freedom of worship. Georgi Vins repeatedly risked harsh prison sentences to live his faith. 110 (Acts 4:19 20; 1 Cor 9:16; Gal 5:1) (Freedom, Religious Liberty) (CDB)

World War I, (1914 - 1918)

1960 During Christmas, 1914, along France's western front, from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps, a famous and uplifting incident took place amid the horrors of World War 1. The war was only five months old, yet approximately 800,000 men had been wounded or killed. But on that Christmas Eve, a welcome respite occurred that is vivid testimony to the higher impulses within the human heart. British soldiers raised "Merry Christmas" signs above their trenches. The hated Germans responded in kind. Soon carols were heard from the German and British trenches alike.

Christmas Day found unarmed soldiers from both sides meeting the enemy in the middle of no man's land for fellowship. Exchanging small gifts, they passed Christmas Day peacefully. The unusual outbreak of peace occurred for miles along the battlefront. At one spot, the British played soccer with the Germans, who won 3 - 2.

In some places, the spontaneous truce continued the next day as neither side was willing to fire the first shot. Finally, fighting was resumed when fresh troops arrived, and the high command of both armies ordered that further "informal understandings" with the enemy would be punishable as treason. (Luke 2:14) (Christmas, Peace, Reconciliation) (JLR)

World War II, (1939 - 1945)

1961A During World War II, some French soldiers took one of their slain friends to a French cemetery located in a Catholic churchyard, hoping to bury him with some dignity. The priest in charge of the cemetery told them he must inquire whether their friend was Catholic. When they said they did not know, the priest said he was very sorry, but only members of the Catholic Church could be buried in the cemetery. Dejectedly, the soldiers buried their friend just outside the fence of the cemetery.

The next day they returned to pay their final respects and were startled because they couldn't find the grave. just as they were about to leave, thoroughly bewildered by their inability to find any trace of the grave, the priest came out to see them. He told them that he had been so troubled by the rule against burying the soldier's body in the cemetery, that early in the morning he had dug up the cemetery fence and moved it to include the body of the soldier who had died for France.

Legalism often divides us. Jesus Christ broke down the dividing walls between us. His love moved the fence so that we all might be included in his family. (Legalism, Love) (Eph 2:13 18) (CDW)

1961B Because of Pearl Harbor and the hostilities of the war, there was much suspicion cast toward the loyalty of Japanese Americans, even if they were native born Americans. Rallies were held to support the detention of the JapaneseAmericans in prison like camps. At one such rally a Christian minister dared to oppose the jingoistic nationalism of the crowd. He reminded the audience of America's heritage of freedom under due process, the dignity of all persons created in the image of God, and the inalienable rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. His speech was greeted by a loud chorus of boos. The minister then pleaded with the crowd to recall how Jesus died for all persons, even those headed for the camps. "They are not worth it," shouted a man from the recalcitrant crowd. Looking at the heckler, the minister replied, "Are You?"

Jesus Christ died for the whole world. He loves us all, even in wartime. (Hos 11:8; John 3:16; Rom 5:8; Eph 2:4 7; Jas 4:1) (Death of Christ, God's Love, War)

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