Shepherdless Sheep: But the Harvest Is Plentiful
Victoria, age 17, preached this sermon on Youth Sunday (November 19, 2006) at St. Luke's Parish in Darien, CT. She is a senior in High School. Thank-you, Victoria, for sharing your sermon.
“Lord, help us to realize
that we are stewards of the earth and to watch over it with care and
dedication.” Amen.
The moment I was conceived, I was predestined to become like one of
Jesus’ shepherdless sheep. Born to a young woman who had neither the time,
experience, nor money to raise me properly, I was instantly given up for
adoption in my birth country of Brazil. However, sometimes predestination doesn’t actually
coincide with your final destiny; two weeks after I was born, I was adopted by
my mom, Vera, and brought to the United States. And as you know, I was not brought to just any
town or city, but was brought to Darien. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. My
current living situation has not made me forget where I came from though- as my
mom likes to remind me when I’m acting like a brat, I could be living out in
the streets somewhere in Brazil.
The world we are born into has everything to do with our future. Some are lucky
enough to be born into a world of affluence and security, while others are born
into a world, as described in the gospel reading, where people are “harassed
and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Because you cannot choose which
society you are to be born into, we are taught that you must take what is given
to you and be happy with it. But while the child who is born into a fortunate
home excels because he is given the opportunity to, the child born into a world
of poverty may never reach their full potential, solely because the
opportunities to are not there.
I’m not sure exactly if the daily reminder that I could be back in Brazil is what prompted me to become involved in
volunteering. What keeps me involved, however, is knowing that these people
that I am helping are just like you and me. They live the same kinds of lives,
with the same stress and pressure, the same family structure, and the same hope
that someday they will amount to bigger and better things.
Two summers ago, I was chosen to travel to Nicaragua with a program at my school called Building with
Books. Each year, two students from the Darien High School chapter of the program travel with other high
schoolers to a third-world country to build a schoolhouse. While building, I
stayed with a Spanish-speaking host family in a rural village that had no
electricity or running water. For ten days, we worked on the schoolhouse for a
total of eight hours a day. Not only was this a project for the high school
students, but for the villagers as well. Prior to the start of construction,
Building with Books seeks out villages that are in need of better schooling
facilities, or facilities at all. These villages show an inherent desire to
educate their young people, in hopes of improving their futures. In addition,
the villagers also agree to work on the schoolhouse alongside of us and also
agree to work for the three months it will take after our departure to complete
the school. Once finished, the school must be used during the day for the
education of the village children, and used at night for the education of
village adults. These people really want this, and it is obvious.
While there are people in
areas of the world that really lack the bare basics, there are still people
struggling in our own town and surrounding areas that also lack certain
opportunities.
Person-to-Person, an organization that I hope you’re all familiar with,
is a program that I got involved in during my sophomore year. Now that I am in
my senior year, I am one of four youth leaders for Saturday mornings. My job
specifically is to book van drivers, furniture deliveries, and furniture
pick-ups. When I can’t find someone to do the dirty work for me, I can
occasionally be found organizing the garage.
As part of my job description, I call up families who have requested
certain pieces of furniture when we have that item available. To hear how
thankful the families are to get a crib for their infant, or a table and chairs
for their kitchen makes me realize that there is nothing I would rather be
doing on my Saturday mornings than helping these people.
Because we are the fortunate ones, today’s gospel urges us to help those who
were born into a life with less guidance: “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The
harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the
harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” Here at St. Luke’s, we take
that reading to heart, especially in the youth program. Each year the youth
travel to Lewiston, Maine
and Navajoland in Bluff, Utah
to help improve each community. Though both trips are outstanding experiences,
I can only speak to Navajoland, as I’ve never gone to Lewiston.
Each year in Navajoland we work on projects around the community, as well
as hold a Vacation Bible School for the local kids. Native American Reservations
in general suffer from some of the highest poverty, suicide, and alcoholism
rates in the nation, and Navajoland is no different. Two years ago, we worked
on fixing up a home owned by an abusive and alcoholic father. Upon arriving, we
were led into and around a house that was falling apart; garbage was strewn
about in the yard, children were playing amongst the garbage, and malnourished
puppies ran after the children. Inside the home was a mess as well; the kitchen
floor was destroyed, doors hung by their hinges, and old goat meat sat in
uncovered plates scattered around the kitchen. After some time, the children of
the family became comfortable with our being there and eventually started to
open up to some of the members of the youth group. When they felt comfortable
enough around us, they decided to come to Vacation Bible School. In Vacation Bible School, we teach the children about religion so that
they can put their faith in something and use God for guidance. In an area
where some families have next to nothing, it is nice to know that we can make
such a different in some kids’ lives.
On this Youth Sunday, it
is important to realize that we can all make a difference in people’s lives.
After the service, the talents that many youth have volunteered will be up for
auction in the Parish Hall. I encourage all of you to participate in the
auction by purchasing any of these services, or solely by donating money. All
of the money we raise goes towards our outreach trips to Lewiston and Navajoland- and as an added bonus, both Phil
and Ian will shave their heads if we raise $13,000.
Seeing people put their faith in God encourages me and strengthens my
faith as well. Like the children we teach in Vacation Bible School, we too need to be guided by God. We are the
fortunate ones here and as Jesus asked, it is up to us to guide those who are
in need.
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