When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking
So often I return to a wonderful poem by Mary Rita Shilke Korzan entitled When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking. As Melissa and I continue learning what it means to parent children - to teach them and raise them to know what is right and wrong – this poem reminded me of the importance of what I do each day. Perhaps it’s also a poem about what it means to proclaim Good News.
When you thought I wasn’t looking you hung my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another.
When you thought I wasn’t looking you fed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, you baked a birthday cake just for me, and I knew that little things were special things.
When you thought I wasn’t looking you said a prayer, and I believed there was a God that I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn’t looking you kissed me good-night, and I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt–but that it’s all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn’t looking you smiled, and it made me want to look that pretty, too.
When you thought I wasn’t looking you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking–I looked . . . and wanted to say thanks for all those things you did when you thought I wasn’t looking.
As I mentioned before, perhaps this poem is more than a simple reflection on parenting and raising children to know right from wrong. Maybe this is the core of evangelism and our work as church.
Every day I receive literature through the mail that is trying to sell me a product that will help our congregation better evangelize. Every month the South Central Synod office reminds me that our primary focus for the years to come will be evangelism. And every so often the church wide office in Chicago will send a mailing to every ELCA pastor reminding them of the mission of the ELCA – to proclaim the gospel by making Christ known to others. Still, I sometimes wonder if we have forgotten the primary way that we do evangelism, that is, by the way we live our lives. After all, I truly believe that if we continue coming together each Sunday with energy and joy, if we laugh heartily and sing boldly and share deeply, then people who see us will want to know the source of our joy and laughter, our singing and sharing - a source that is Christ. If we continue giving generously to support the work of this congregation and the wider church, if we support the food pantry, the homeless shelter, domestic abuse services and all the other charities that we believe in, then people who see us will want to know the source of our generosity - a source that is Christ. If we live with each other in peace without ‘sweating the small stuff’ and try to love each other and enjoy each other, then people who see us will want to know the source of that peace - a source that is Christ.
The bottom line is this. People are watching us even when we think they’re not looking. The way we live teaches our children more than anything we can ever say. The way we love one another here at Messiah will proclaim to world better than any sermon, the source of our life and love, a source that is Christ. If we are people of love, life, laughter and generosity, then and only then, will we be great, great evangelizers!
