Offer What You Have

Dm—C—G/B—Gm/Bb—Dm/A—E7/G#…A7/G—D7/F#…G7/F—

I’m sure to most of you, the line above gives the appearance that a two year-old got a hold of my keyboard. Some of you, though, will recognize this collection of letters and slashes as guitar chords. It would take too long to explain why, but this particular progression of chords was a bit of a nightmare for me this past Friday morning. A bit of context—

To accompany Oddwalk’s new book of prayer services for middle schoolers (due in July!), Orin created a new arrangement of the well-known Catholic hymn, “What Wondrous Love is This.” Friday was our day in the studio to record it. As Orin envisioned it, my guitar would be the only accompanying instrument through the first verse. This meant I was going to have to play it somewhat flawlessly—which I did not. As take after take was attempted, I repeatedly messed up this chord or that transition. The only explanation I can give for my continuous stumbling is that many of the chords I was trying to play were not typical ones for me and were not arranged in a sequence I was comfortable playing, at least not at the speed Orin prescribed. Luckily, though, through the digital sorcery of Rick, the recording engineer (and Oddwalk’s drummer!), the end product failed to reveal any of my thunks and buzzes. Whew!

As it turns out, I’m not perfect. It’s through moments like Friday morning’s studio visit that I learn humility (again) and am reminded that my gifts and talents are just a part of God’s plan, not the plan itself*. Keeping that truth in mind certainly takes some of the pressure off and helps me focus on God’s mission.

This brings me to justice. As sure as I am sitting here typing this, I believe that you and I have solemn responsibility to use what we have at our disposal to aid God in making this a just world, according to God’s definition of justice, of course. (For more on God’s definition of justice, please consult your nearest Bible and Church documents.) For some of us, “using what we have” means offering any excess of wealth to lift up those struggling to meet basic needs. For others, it means using any influence we have to speak out against injustice. For still others, it means using power and authority in a way that helps to balance the scales, allowing for equal opportunity, security, and sustainability for all. Typically, though, our opportunities to answer God’s call come not as much through the big and important moments and circumstances, but through more simple gifts and encounters, like conversations with troubled friends, sharing a particular skill that could help a struggling neighbor, or in my case, through guitar hackery, aimed at helping the Church pray.

Trust me. Just offer what you have for Christ and the Church. I promise that, just like the boy in the Gospel with five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus will accept your gifts, bless them, and (like an amazing studio engineer) make them enough.

Shannon

* Lest you think I came up with this sentence on my own, I refer you to a reflection written by Fr. Ken Untener, which is typically (but erroneously) attributed to Blessed Oscar Romero, called A Future Not Our Own.