Parson to Person

My last column of 2017 is before me… Christmas coming up fast, and a New Year on the horizon. What shall I write about – events past to be remembered, or things down the road? Something spiritual, surely, and hopefully engaging, and possibly mildly entertaining…

I want to end this year talking about an old Latin phrase; it is one that you have heard before. It is pro bono publico; usually we shorten it to pro bono. In common chit-chat we usually think this phrase means free, and it is connected with free services, usually offered by professionals. But dropping off that little word publico is where our confusion gets its roots, because what this really means is for the public good.

For the public good… for the good of all… if Jesus had spoken Latin, it sounds like something he would have said, yes? And so, friends and fellow followers of the newborn king, I have a question and a challenge for us as we all enter the New Year; what parts of yourself and your life do you offer pro bono publico? I am talking about volunteerism here, a gift to the community, for the public good. A gift of time and energy and skill and caring. It might be your professional skills, offered without cost, so that other folks lives will improve. It may be your caring, your soothing voice or clear-thinking mind that gives needed help. And it may “just be” your presence, a rare and significant gift that the world can never get enough of. Where do you and the kind of acts that enhance the public good intersect?

They say, in our accelerated society, that time is now the most valuable commodity. And that is why, precisely why, it makes such a nice gift. If you are not involved pro bono publico, or you are barely challenged, this may be just the article to jump start your mind and heart and get you back on the path of service. And even though I have been writing you, you, you all through this article, it was just simpler grammatically than fitting in we everyplace. Nevertheless, we it is…I will be part of this, for sure. And I hope to work alongside some of you in new ways this coming New Year and beyond.

I have never been a swashbuckler (big surprise, that), but have always admired another old Latin credo, this one voiced by the Musketeers; Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno, better known as ‘all for one, and one for all’. Another thing that sounds like Jesus would have said, yes? And another way to frame our spiritual journey as we crest a New Year together…blessings for the journey, my friends. Omnes pro bono publico!