I was born on a Sunday morning. My father who was a pastor (now retired) had not made arrangements for someone to lead Sunday worship services. So, when my mother went into labor, and when little old me came into the world, my father found himself in a predicament. He wanted to be by the bedside with my mother, and he needed to figure out alternative arrangements for the church that Sunday morning. This was in age of no cellphones.
My mother had been married to my father for many years. They had already had five children by the time I came around, and they had been in ministry together for 17 years already. So, my mother understood something about the sense of the call in my father’s life. Seeing the predicament my father was in, my mother said something to him that eventually gave them a sign of what my name would be. My mother said, “Endai munoshandira Mwari nevanhu venyu.” This, in Shona, which is one of the languages in Zimbabwe, translates to, “Go and serve God and your people.” The word, “serve” is “shandirai,” and hence I became known as Shandirai.
I have not always appreciated this name. My mother tells me the story of one of the earliest times that I protested my name. She had asked me to run an errand for her. I had five other siblings who could have done the same job, but it seemed to me that I was always the one she picked on to do something for her. So, that day, I protested — crying — saying, “Every time it’s ‘Shandi do this, Shandi to do that,’ why did you have to go call me Shandirai? I don’t want to be anyone's servant anymore!”
Even at an early age, I was realizing the weight my name carries; however, I have since learned that it isn’t a burden but a privilege. It is a privilege to be able to serve another person and be able to make a difference — no matter how small — in their life. In fact, for me to become a pastor I had traveled a very personal journey in which I discovered that my deepest joy and my sense of calling was made manifest in times when I spent my time in service with others. And this leads me to my message to you …
We are living in a time when it seems more and more people are hurting. People are worried about their health, their families, their finances, their livelihoods. People are living in fear about what tomorrow may bring and what this world is coming to. There even appears to be growing distrust among some people because of the tensions in our current political climate. However, I recognize that these times are not as different as other times that have gone before. What is different is that, the time is now; and many of us had hoped that the world would have been better these days than in days past. And in some respects, the world is better, while in others it certainly is worse.
The urgency of now makes the weight of our struggles that more important. Tomorrow is not a guarantee, what we have is today — this very moment. So, the question becomes, how can we make this moment count?
As a Christian, I turn to the life and witness of Jesus to learn about how to make my moments count. There is a passage in the gospel of Mark, chapter 10, in which Jesus teaches that, “Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant.” Jesus then says that, the Messiah didn’t come to be served but to serve and to give his life in order to liberate people. I have been thinking about these words in light of the many human and social needs I encounter in my ministry as a pastor, and I am often inspired by people whom I meet along the way who demonstrate this incredible capacity for resilience in the face of hardship. One common thread I have witnessed is that, when people find themselves in a downward spiral of worry, fear and anxiety about their lives, they often come out of this spiral when someone else genuinely offers a helping hand in loving care and compassion. I have even witnessed how some people find their way out of the same spiral when they transform their internal anxiety into an outward expression of care and concern for others. Whether one is helped because someone helped them, or whether they give themselves in service to others despite their own desperate need, the common denominator is that the life of serving other human beings has the incredible power and capacity to make a difference in our world.
So I feel compelled to remind us that, in all ages, in all times, in all places, there are some things that remain constant and one of them is this basic truth: we each have a role to play in making the world a better place. We need each other to be able to live in a different world. So, I am convinced that no matter who we are or where we find ourselves, we each have a calling to a life of service — serving the needs of humanity and of God’s created order. We each have a calling to transform our self-interest into an outward expression of care and concern for the world because when one person hurts, we all hurt; and when one person rejoices, we all can rejoice with them.
I am grateful that my parents named me Shandirai because I eventually found this name to be a liberating force in my life and, by God’s grace, in the life of others. So I invite you to make today count by offering yourself in love and service to another human being.
The Rev. Shandirai K.T. Mawokomatanda is minister of Wesley United Methodist Church in Worcester.