The public did not know Randal Simmons by name prior to his death. He was an ordinary person like all of us who live daily lives focused on personal priorities and commitments, but his passing touched a nerve in the Southland community.
On Feb. 15, thousands of police and other mourners paid final tribute to Randall, an LAPD officer who was the first member of a SWAT team to be killed in the line of duty. His life was distinguished not only by heroic service in the department, but also extraordinary service in the community.
Randy was a man with a mission to protect and defend life, which he accomplished not only through his work, but also through the relationships he created with the people of his community, especially youth at risk. While raising his own family and serving on the police force, Randy made time for ministry with youth in his church and in the neighborhood of South Los Angeles. His authentic care and presence for the youth he mentored was a source of hope and joy.
For all these reasons, Southern California honored Randal Simmons with full media coverage of his funeral, fundraisers for his family, memorial blogs online and sure remembrance in the hearts of all inspired by his dedicated service.
Every life can be fulfilled through a personal sense of mission and service, but in our competitive and consumerist society many have lost sight of this way of being fully alive. Driven by the desire to succeed and possess, people often fail to seek or respond to opportunities to serve.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer, a doctor who spent most of his life on mission in Africa, once remarked, "The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." Unfortunately our culture more often promotes happiness that is hinged on how much money, prestige or power we accumulate, not on how we live a life of compassion and care for others.
As followers of Christ we are called to participate in the mission of Christ for the world. At the beginning of his ministry in his hometown synagogue Jesus declared:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4: 18-19).
Like Christ, we are sent to be good news for the poor and powerless. Jesus underlines our mission explicitly in his narrative of the Last Judgment when entry into the kingdom is determined by what we do for the least among us --- the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick and the imprisoned. In doing so he offers a key to open our hearts to those in need: Whatever you do to the least ones, you do to me.
This is the great gift of Christ's incarnation, his death and resurrection. No human person or condition is outside of God's redemptive presence. We are made in the image and likeness of God our Creator. This fundamental truth gives each person inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with such dignity. Whatever you do to the least ones, you do to me. When we care for the poor and the powerless, we fulfill the great commandments: love of God and love of neighbor.
But how does this look in the daily life of ordinary people? There are many unsung heroes like Randall Simmons in our communities. The opportunities to care for the least ones abound in the family where parents sacrifice daily to meet the needs of their children, the sick and the elderly, and where grandparents continue to raise the next generation. Living as a family can be affirmed as a privileged terrain of sacred encounters with Christ. Our workplaces offer many opportunities to reach out to those marginalized due to work or social politics. Our neighborhoods are not far from the sick, the stranger, the lonely.
In all these daily circumstances and beyond, we are also called to address the systems that oppress the poor and vulnerable. We are prompted by Christ who liberates captives, to challenge unjust structures that hinder the rights of the poor, and to promote those structures that will empower their dignity.
So what holds us back from aligning our lives more closely with the mission of Christ?
Mission and service are rarely convenient; thus, our compassion for the needs of others must be frequently renewed. Through prayer and Eucharist, we foster the vitality to be life giving for others. Through communion with Christ, we find strength to pour ourselves out for those in need. Mother Teresa reminds us in both her words and actions:
When we handle the sick and needy we touch the suffering body of Christ and this touch will make us heroic; it will make us forget the repugnance and natural tendencies in us. We need the eyes of deep faith to see Christ in the broken body and dirty clothes under which the most beautiful one among us hides. We shall need the hands of Christ to touch these bodies wounded by pain and suffering.
When a young person was recently asked, "What in our society makes it difficult to serve?" she replied quite simply, "Just beginning." There are many needs, there are many options, but in the end, like so many unsung heroes, it is up to us to choose. Judy Wilber Alvarez is Western Province coordinator of Youth Ministry for the Salesians of Don Bosco.
This is the fifth in an eight-part series, "Keys to the Spiritual Life in Times of Transition," prepared by the Archdiocesan Spirituality Commission. |