Tuesday, March 28, 2006
From AscensionNYC
Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent
Psalm 94
Genesis 49:29 - 50:14
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Mark 8:1-10
There is a Japanese method for achieving big goals in small ways: kaizen. It was actually introduced by General MacArthur after the war, with the goal of improving Japan's business culture, which he saw as exhibiting slack management practices and low standards, impediments to Japan joining the international economy. The rest, as they say, is history.
The essential lesson of kaizen is that, by taking small, almost infinitesimal steps toward our goals, we are that much better positioned to make other, only slightly less infinitesimal improvements. Eventually, almost with compound interest, we've reached our goal and possibly blown past it to even greater things. Studies by (among others) Robert Maurer, Ph.D., of the UCLA School of Medicine, demonstrate that the technique can work for institutions, communities, and individuals. His book One Small Step Can Change Your Life sounds cheesy by its title, but it's actually a cogent argument for kaizen in daily life.
Seven loaves and a few small fish would, I think, classify as small and infinitesimal steps toward the goal of feeding four thousand people. And yet.
In Mark's gospel (and in Matthew's) this is the second time Jesus feeds a multitude with a few loaves and fish. It proved a second opportunity for the disciples (and us) to learn what God's asking of us: to give what we have, and he'll take care of the rest. I noticed he didn't produce the baskets and baskets of bread and fish out of thin air. And however they were multiplied, it's not recorded as an impressive miracle from a visual standpoint -- such as, say, the Transfiguration was. He simply took what the disciples could offer, gave thanks, broke the bread and divided the fish -- and it fed four thousand hungry people.
We can take stock of ourselves and ask: "Can I live my life today just two percent more in line with God's will for me than I did yesterday?" We can take stock of our parish and say: "What can we do to welcome just one more person into our midst?" Or: "What single visit, phone call, e-mail, or letter can I make or write today to make Ascension a more loving community?"
Infinitesimal improvements. Steps so small, they're no threat whatsoever to my natural inertia and resistance. Easy. Simple.
Here, have some more fish. We've got plenty.
Genesis 49:29 - 50:14
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Mark 8:1-10
He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven."
There is a Japanese method for achieving big goals in small ways: kaizen. It was actually introduced by General MacArthur after the war, with the goal of improving Japan's business culture, which he saw as exhibiting slack management practices and low standards, impediments to Japan joining the international economy. The rest, as they say, is history.
The essential lesson of kaizen is that, by taking small, almost infinitesimal steps toward our goals, we are that much better positioned to make other, only slightly less infinitesimal improvements. Eventually, almost with compound interest, we've reached our goal and possibly blown past it to even greater things. Studies by (among others) Robert Maurer, Ph.D., of the UCLA School of Medicine, demonstrate that the technique can work for institutions, communities, and individuals. His book One Small Step Can Change Your Life sounds cheesy by its title, but it's actually a cogent argument for kaizen in daily life.
Seven loaves and a few small fish would, I think, classify as small and infinitesimal steps toward the goal of feeding four thousand people. And yet.
In Mark's gospel (and in Matthew's) this is the second time Jesus feeds a multitude with a few loaves and fish. It proved a second opportunity for the disciples (and us) to learn what God's asking of us: to give what we have, and he'll take care of the rest. I noticed he didn't produce the baskets and baskets of bread and fish out of thin air. And however they were multiplied, it's not recorded as an impressive miracle from a visual standpoint -- such as, say, the Transfiguration was. He simply took what the disciples could offer, gave thanks, broke the bread and divided the fish -- and it fed four thousand hungry people.
We can take stock of ourselves and ask: "Can I live my life today just two percent more in line with God's will for me than I did yesterday?" We can take stock of our parish and say: "What can we do to welcome just one more person into our midst?" Or: "What single visit, phone call, e-mail, or letter can I make or write today to make Ascension a more loving community?"
Infinitesimal improvements. Steps so small, they're no threat whatsoever to my natural inertia and resistance. Easy. Simple.
Here, have some more fish. We've got plenty.
Derek Baker
