He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Mt.10:39

Once upon a time there lived a tribe of American Indians from the Sioux Nation who lived along the mighty Mississippi. The river was swift and dangerous not far from the settlement where they lived, in fact the current was so strong and devastating that if someone were to try and cross the river at that point or stumble and fall into the mighty stream they would be swept away and most likely drown.

            Now as so often was the case with the American Indians, the tribes lands were being taken away by a group of hostile settlers and their backs were up against the river. The settlers had surrounded them and pushed them aggressively to the site on the river where the currents were most dangerous and crossing was unlikely. They were greatly outnumbered and their only chance at survival was trying to cross the river. In their desperation they prayed to the Great Spirit: O Great Spirit, you who made all people, hear our cries and show us the way to a new hunting ground. You have promised to help the weak so help us now and save us O Great Spirit. They huddled together and the chief of the tribe reminded them that if the Great Spirit saved those who were weak then so must they help each other. So those who were strong picked up the weak and put them on their shoulders; the little children, the sick and the infirmed, those who were ill or wounded were placed on the back of every man and woman. Every child, sometimes multiple children were carried on the backs of the adults until every able bodied member of the tribe carried another. Then they began to cross the river.

            Suddenly something amazing dawned on these frightened people – to their great surprise they discovered that the weight on their shoulders carrying the least and the lowest helped them to keep their footing and to make it safely across the river. On the other side, now safe from the threat of the hostile settlers, the tribe gave thanks to the Great Spirit: Thank you Great Spirit. You have shown us the way of life and salvation. We are saved when we carry each other!

            I have been thinking recently about this old Native American story and its relationship to the scriptures during this season of autumn. The scriptures during these last weeks of the church year speak often about laying down one’s life, and taking up the cross, and being last in order to be first. And I believe perhaps more than any other time during the church year, these autumnal scriptures remind us of the essence of church. All too often we perceive the work of the church as being nice to people – in fact I often hear churched people talk about the necessity of just being a good person, of being nice, like Jesus. I’m not sure that this is what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of laying down your life for others! Jesus wasn’t asking his disciples to lose their lives by carrying the burdens of others because it was a nice thing to do – NO – he was trying to show that somehow our own salvation, our own life, our own happiness and fulfillment was tied up with the salvation and life and happiness of the least among us. In a very real way Jesus was trying to show his followers that they needed the poor as much as the poor needed them!

            It’s an odd notion isn’t it – that we need the hurting and poor as much as they need us? Still, I think the entire story of salvation history is about God using the weak and the lowly, God using a band of Hebrew slaves, even more, God using a poor child born in a stable to bring salvation to all. I find that so often the case in my own life. Someone will call looking for financial help – they have rent to pay or a heating bill or a medical condition and they are asking help from this church. And while I sometimes perceive this as an inconvenience, their presence in my life reminds me that I too need help – that I am totally dependent on God and God’s grace for all that I have, and that these poor are my brothers and sisters. I need the poor to bring me back to God. How many times in the hospital I visit people who are struggling and hurting and yet they remind me that my health is a gift and every breath I take is a gift and every day I wake up is a gift. I need these people to bring me back to God. And certainly I encounter often people with brain disorders, and psychological dysfunctions, and I encounter children with special needs and these people remind me that my worth is NOT found in how productive I am or how talented I might be or how “normal” I am, but my worth is found in being a child of God! I need these people to bring me back to God.

            So the next time you are asked to carry another person and care for them; the next time you are asked to shoulder a burden or help someone else; the next time you are approached by someone poor and hurting remember that old Native American story – we need the poor as much as the poor need us!