Thanks to them, the operation of many organizations is eiciently taken care of. And many events become successful because they graciously devote hours and hours of their time. Who are they? Thanks to them, the operation of many organizations is eiciently taken care of. And many events become successful because they graciously devote hours and hours of their time. Who are they? VOLUNTEERS !
by André Gadbois

Brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of God
Photo credit: Chrétiens-Médias, Paris

The dictionary defines volunteers as being those who voluntarily do something without being paid. We find such people in the Scout movement, school councils, blood clinics, the Little Brothers of the Poor, La Maison des Enfants in Hochelaga, the Christian initiation of parish children, the Montreal Catechumenate, the Mondial Choral in Laval, the Tour de l'île bicycle ride, they are in Quebec's primary schools and in political parties! Those volunteers give their sweat and blood; they deserve our recognition and respect. More often than not they work in the wings, in the background and yet they are the ones who give tenderness and comfort in deplorable situations and disasters.

A VOLUNTEER ON TRIAL

Giving one's time, generosity, thinking of others, religion, love, volunteer work, Jesus...: are these terms related? From the same family? Synonyms... or almost? Jesus who says: But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt 6:33), was He a volunteer? Isn't this what a volunteer is preoccupied with, the welfare of others? If so, how is it that the great volunteer of Judea and Galilee found Himself under trial, abandoned by more or less everyone, and then crucified like a vulgar criminal? The powerful, like the most disinherited, didn't see their own interests in Him: for the first, His volunteer action was a serious obstacle to their expansion; for the latter, His volunteer work wasn't a solution to their problems. Could we go so far as to say that He didn't serve their interests as they were hoping He would?

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God (Mt 22:21). It took the Spirit of the Resurrected for the apostles and disciples (who were all volunteers) to understand that laws, organizations, structures and powers belonged to Caesar, that they were necessary, but had to be contested whenever they enchained Life, which belongs to God. These men had to undergo a conversion before they could recognize the existence of a reality beyond the designs of this world, the Kingdom of God, and that they had to put it before their individual, corporatist, national, or religious interests. The meaning of Jesus' words, Happy are the poor in spirit... (Mt 5:3) shook them up. They were henceforth unencumbered, stripped of all comfort and calculated planning, for they were now the artisans of the Kingdom. The Spirit of Pentecost made them see that sometimes the hidden consequences of a law, the existence of a caregiving organization, the complexity of a structure, the abuses of legal power, can amputate Life, become unjust and hinder the advent of the Kingdom of God.

A TROUBLESOME VOLUNTEER

Jesus never sought His own interest: under the movement of the Spirit, He was able to discern what served the interest of His brothers and sisters created in the image of God. He made choices and took positions, whose grave consequences for Himself He was not incapable of foreseeing. His Gospel contains hard and difficult words for us when we decide to serve our brothers and sisters.To do volunteer work means: to not expect compensation-to lose our life-put the Father's Kingdom ahead of our father, mother, our Little group, our party-to become a neighbour to others whomever they happen to be-to be persecuted for His sake-to remain watchful and keep our lamp lit in every circumstance. The Spirit of the Lord never ceases to blow, to provoke us and push us out of our comfort zone, our pleasures, our quietude, and the self-righteousness of being a volunteer. Yes, my apron strings are tied, but am I really serving my neighbour, allowing him to fully exercise his autonomy, am I raising him up? Could it be that certain services that I render as a volunteer allow Caesar to neglect justice, or to take advantage of them in order to polish his public image and feed those who are already amply fed? Am I a slave to my volunteer work, blinded by it to the point of avoiding silence, solitude, and those close to me?

LORD, RELIGHT MY LAMP!

Was Jesus a volunteer? That's for everyone to answer in his or her own way. But at the end of this text, I, who am myself a volunteer (and retirement is such fertile ground for volunteer work), wonder if I am inhabited by the Spirit of the Resurrected in the choices that I make and the positions I take. Do I allow myself to be bought out or put to sleep when I give my time, or do I accept to have my lamp relit by the One who was victorious over darkness?