For the record, I started Holy Week out right...by drinking my coffee out of my favorite Mr.Rogers mug. It is decorated with quotes from my hero, and his sweater even changes color when you fill it! I call Mr.Rogers my hero, because he is one of my biggest role models in ministry and in life overall. Mr.Rogers, as an ordained Presbyterian minister, chose television as his pulpit in order to preach messages of love and compassion to children all across the country. One of those great messages was about what to do during frightening times, when the news is filled with scary stories and sadness (sound familiar?). Mr.Rogers said "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'" Mr.Rogers encouraged children to find peace and hope in others, especially those serving one another in ways big and small.
Martin Luther had a similar outlook on "helpers." In his Letter to the Christian Nobility (1520) Luther declared that "A cobbler, a smith, a peasant – each has the work and office of his trade, and yet they are all alike consecrated priests and bishops." In other words, every vocation is holy if it is done out of love and service to our neighbors. Every profession or role we play is a type of ministry that is just as valuable and important to God and God's creation as any other ministry. We are all helpers responsible for doing God's work and sharing God's love with one another, however unconventional or insignificant our ministries may seem to us.
As part of Holy Week, we remember the life of Jesus and how unconventional his ministry seemed to the world. After all, whoever imagined the savior of the world would be born in a manger? Whoever thought our king would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey and come to wear a crown of thorns and hang on cross instead of sitting on a throne with purple robes? God's love comes to us in myserteous ways. God's work is done by unlikely figures. God's peace and hope come from all helpers. Who are the helpers for which you are grateful? What vocations and ministries are especially meaning to you right now? Please uplift your helpers and their stories in the comments below.