No one is just automatically born a “Change Maker.” An individual decides to become a change maker for goodness. Somewhere along the journey of life, an individual becomes aware of a challenge or a need and dares to become a part of the solution rather than remain part of the problem.
It was Mother Teresa who said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
While spending time in the areas around Calcutta, India, I, indeed, did learn of the many ripples the lady created in a world of unspeakable misery and wretchedness. Mother Teresa was born in the city of Skopje, which is now part of Macedonia, not far from Albania. She was born to an Albanian-Kosovar family by the name of Bojaxhiu and given the name (translated) Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu.
At the time, Skopje was part of Kosovo. All of that area was part of the Muslim-controlled Ottoman Empire. In my travels in that part of the world, I would run across the path of Mary Teresa (Mother Teresa) in Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. When she was 18, she moved to Ireland and joined the Sisters of Loreto at the Abbey not far from Dublin. There she learned English. Eventually, she moved to the Kolkata (Calcutta) area in India where she learned the Bengali language and became a school teacher.
During her work, she became increasingly disturbed by all the extreme poverty and illness in the Calcutta area. Following the unusually brutal Bengal famine in 1943, she felt directly called of God to move out of the Convent and go live among the poor and sick and take care of them by sharing God’s love directly with the people. By 1948, she was involved with her work, but without money, begging for food herself, she was tempted to return to the comfort and security of the Convent. Her simple but forceful reply was, “Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come.”
Mother Teresa would continually remind those working with her, “A beautiful death is for people who lived like animals to die like angels – loved and wanted.”
She would also remind others around her that, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
In 1950 Mother Teresa received Vatican permission for the diocesan congregation to become known as “Missionaries of Charity.” She summed up her orders and her life-calling to care for "the hungry, the naked, the homeless the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.” The little 13-member congregation in Calcutta started in 1950, grew by 1997 into a congregation of more than 4,000 Sisters who managed orphanages, AIDs hospices, and charity centers around the world. They cared for the blind, the disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor, homeless, victims of floods, epidemics and famine.
By 2007, the Missionaries of Charity numbered about 450 Brothers and 5,000 Sisters worldwide, operating 600 mission schools and shelters in 120 countries.
As one of God’s Choice Agents of Change, Mother Teresa’s life still reminds us of our awesome privilege and opportunity, as she admonishes us, “The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do it anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
I learned a whole lot from being in Calcutta and observing the mind-boggling accomplishments of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity since 1948. The entire endeavor is such a remarkable example of the biblical idea that the factor of a person’s availability is far greater than the factor of the person’s ability. Mother Teresa was used of God as an astounding Agent of Change. She made herself available to the work of “goodness” and God gave her the ability to see the accomplishment of the task.
Following my Calcutta experiences, I was driven to an even deeper personal and spiritual commitment. My prayer was, “God, I want to make myself available to you more than ever before. You will have to fill in the ability part – I really want to be a Change Maker for Good in this old world!”
“Speak tenderly; let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well.” (Mother Teresa)
Next Week: The Longing for Goodness is Universal