4 Values: Simple Living

He called the twelve diciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits and ordered them, "Don't take anything you on the trip except a walking stick-no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets. Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt." He also told them, "Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place." -Mark 6:7-10

Simple Living seems to be the hardest of the four values for someone outside of JVC to understand. I think that's because it involves a self-imposed a set of limitations. In our society, limits are often seen as burdens. But the limitations of my life as a Jesuit Volunteer aren't there to make my life harder, they are there to redirect my focus.

4 Values: Community

For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them. -Matthew 18:20

Picking that quote was almost too easy. But you won't hear me complaining about that. After all, Jesus doesn't always speak in parables, sometimes he tells it to us straight. Right here, he's telling us that community is where the Kingdom's at. So take notes, and find yourself some community.

Community is in our DNA. And, before my medically-minded friends send me a message that I'm totally wrong about how the human genome works, let me clarify that I mean that statement metaphorically. Homo sapiens are social animals. Way back in the prehistoric times our ancestors formed tribal communities to promote the survival of our species. We couldn't make in this world without at least the micro-community called the family. IWe are designed to live our lives in community of one form or another.

4 Values: Spirituality

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
Matthew 22:1-4

God loves us. That's one of the most basic tenants of Christianity. God might get angry, frustrated, or disappointed in us, but God loves us throughout. When we love people we want to see them grow, learn, and we want the to be happy. But we also want to be with them. I think that God is similar. I think that God really wants to hang out with us, each of us.