Last Monday night I was the recipient of a great deal of help. We are, as you all know, preparing for the wedding of our eldest daughter this coming Saturday. Preparatory to that we had planned to paint the fellowship room. At 6:30 pm a crowd of about 18 showed up to help. Word of mouth had collected a work crew. I had prepped the room, and thought I might have two or three to help that evening. I had so many helpers that I didn’t have enough rollers and brushes. I ended up not painting at all, but spent my time “coordinating” like Fred Sanford. At least that’s how I felt. I was compared by several to Tom Sawyer, as I walked around not painting. If Tom Sawyer felt a great deal of awkwardness and guilt at not white-washing Aunt Sally’s fence, then I guess that is exactly who I was.

Who I felt like was not so much Tom Sawyer, as George Bailey, who was, indeed, “the richest man in town.” It is not easy for many of us to receive help. We are eager to give it, but receiving it is hard. I don’t know why. But when Peter says to Jesus, “You will never wash my feet,” (John 13.8) we understand. “No, I’m fine. Thank you, though” is one of the most used sentences in my repertoire.

When help is truly received, however, it is an overwhelming blessing. 5 years ago, the Wednesday night before my cancer surgery I was surprised by a prayer service focused on my wellbeing. I have to say that after that prayer service I was prepared for any outcome. The strength transferred by the prayers by my brothers and sisters provided was greater than any disease.

God has made us into a body comprised of interdependent parts. In one of the two extended passages which facets this truth (1 Corinthians 12.1-30), Paul gives voice to the way we fail to cooperate with God’s plan. The foot says “because I am not the hand I am not part of the body” ((1 Corinthians 12.15). Silly isn’t it? I have never felt that way. I have been blessed to always feel at home in the body. Later in the passage (1 Corinthians 12.21), the eye tries to say to the hand “I have no need of you.” That I have said. This not the same as saying “I don’t love you,” or “I don’t feel connected to you.” This is saying, “I prefer not to need your help.” What Paul reminds us is that God has created us to need each other’s help, and to refuse this pattern is to refuse the will of God.

Bearing one another’s burdens requires the willingness for burdens to be shared. To refuse help is to refuse to cooperate with this command.

Thank you, everyone. Teresa and I appreciate deeply all the help given to us. We are overwhelmed, because grace is overwhelming, and grace is the source of all this. And thank you, Father, for such a family.