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ADVENT

Day 3

True Charity

I . . . beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

—EPHESIANS 4:1-6

In every generation, there are people who want to make a difference—people whose thoughts and great aspirations move the hearts and minds of the church. In 1856, in London, that person was William Booth, a Methodist who noted that, once again, people had become estranged from the church, and the church, subsequently, had become estranged from the needs of society. Despair and hopelessness had been wed to poverty and discord. There was no unity of service to meet the needs of humanity, and God seemed, to many, so distant and unkind.

Booth began organizing small bands, usually of trumpets, other horns, and drums, to play on the street corners during the days preceding Christmas—a time when many people might, as Charles Dickens had written in his novel A Christmas Carol more than a decade prior, “open their shut-up hearts” to others. Booth collected pocket change and began to address the wider needs of humanity with acts of charity—a word that, then, was deeply ingrained in the gospel proclamation of God’s love in Christ as service and redemption to the world.

What happened then has continued to this day: Booth envisioned the formation of The Salvation Army—a people dedicated to advancing the Christian faith through education, the eradication of poverty, and to any act of charity that would meet the wider needs of humanity. Perhaps you too have participated in this movement without ever realizing the intent. And that was part of Booth’s vision as well.

During this Advent season, our hearts tend to be more open to others, and we often acknowledge the poverty and needs of society. Likewise, our hearts are often moved to the needs that exist in our own families and in the lives of our friends and neighbors. Kindness swells, and so does the spirit of Christmas. True charity is any act that moves us deeper into the love of Christ or serves the needs of humanity—even basic ones such as food, clothing, or shelter. These acts remind us that Christ entered the world as a weak and vulnerable child, dependent upon others for his basic needs and for his growth and sustenance. His birth is an invitation for us to provide for his needs, which we see most clearly in the needs of others. For, as Jesus once said, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40).

How have you demonstrated charity in your celebration of Christmas? How are you preparing to see Christ or to welcome him through your actions today?

Prayer: Gracious Lord, you came among us as a small and vulnerable infant. But you also came to serve and to give your life as a ransom for many. Bless the hands and feet that go forth to serve in your name, so that in all things, even our smallest acts of charity can be a greater demonstration of your abiding love. Amen.