A Norvell Note
Vol. 27 No. 21 May 22, 2023
Show Up
On a recent No Small Endeavor podcast, Lee Camp interviews Father Greg Boyle. These are Lee’s notes on the interview: “In the 80s and 90s, the city of Los Angeles was ravaged by what is now known as the “decade of death,” a period of unprecedented gang violence, peaking at 1,000 killings in 1992 alone. It was in the midst of this unrest, fear, and finger-pointing that Father Greg Boyle became pastor of the poorest Catholic parish in the city, in order to live and work among gang members.” Since that time, he has conducted 250 funerals.
The theme of the conversation is, “How do you reteach love to a community that society has deemed unlovable?” Boyle’s response, “It’s about showing up it’s not about changing people.”
What an insight!
“It’s about showing up it’s not about changing people.”
“It’s about showing up.” Be there. Listen to them. Hear them. Show them you care about them. Love them when they fail. Love them when they succeed. Love them when they don’t love themselves.
“It’s not about changing people.” Yes, we want them to improve and correct their mistakes. But we cannot change them, and we need to stop trying. Instead, see them for who they are, accept them for who they are, and let that be enough.
Jesus showed up. He loved. He taught. He showed them how to live. People changed because they saw something in him that convinced them to live differently.
Thank you, Greg Boyle, for living like Jesus in your community.
“It’s about showing up it’s not about changing people.” Let these words shape our lives this week.
Tom
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