Dear Ger,
Almost always, Nicholas Kristof is a good read.
Given your transformational generosity in the life of friend Cuco, I think you'll be interested in the "Cure Blindness" paragraph I have highlighted below in purple. And be sure to watch the embedded video in that same paragraph.
There is wide agreement among biblical scholars that Jesus performed around forty miracles. (As always, the "definition" of a miracle is persistentlyproblematic.)
What I am about to say is not in any way intended to disrespect Jesus of Nazareth. I am, after all, a Christian, and one of the qualities I most admire in the Nazarene is how he modeled service - including service to those who did not belong to his tribe or belief system; service to whores, traitorous tax collectors and "wine bibblers" aka wastrel alcoholics.
"Jesus Of Nazareth: Festive Tippler, Friend Of Whores, Sinners And Tax Collectors"
Modeling "miracle working" and calling on his latter-day followers to "perform even greater works" than he himself performed even if they don't believe in any of "the God talk."
In the 14th chapter of John's gospel Jesus says: "The words I say are not my own but are from my Father who lives in me. And he does his work through me. Just believe it—that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or else believe it because of the mighty miracles you have seen me do. In solemn truth I tell you, anyone believing in me shall do the same miracles I have done, and even greater ones..."
I will not go into Jesus' understanding of "words" and the mutuality between the invisible God and the incarnate son/sons of God.
What is clear is Yeshuah's expectation that his spiritual descendants would do even greater things.
And so, while Jesus performed 40 recorded miracles, it has been recorded that this Nepali eye surgeon has made over 100,000 blind people see.
Iif only via the vaccines and other medicines which dedicated, loving people have made manifest in the world, it is a fact that the most remote clinic in backwater Africa prevents more suffering and death in a week than all the miracles Jesus performed in his 3 year mission.
I do not blaspheme.
It is those who interpret such undiscriminating service-orientation as blasphemy who fail to infuse themselves themselves with the spirit of Jesus who never enter the promised land where salvation resides, salvation through service to strangers, outsiders, infidels; and to all those who can, in no way, provide tit-for-tat recompense for the physical suffering that has been relieved and the needless deaths that have been prevented.
"If you greet only your friends, what's so great about that? Don't even unbelievers do this?" Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:47
The Christian calling that comes directly from Jesus' mouth is to do "even greater things."
Greater things than Yeshua's own miracles.
 | | The nonprofit group Camfed helps educate girls in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. Joseph Assah Mills/Camfed |
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We all need uplift! So today let me offer you a dose of inspiration. |
Every year at this time I publish a list of recommended charities that readers can support over the holidays. Last year, you all donated $3 million, and I think you’ll be particularly inspired by the groups I chose this year. Here’s the column. |
The grand prize winner of this year’s Kristof Holiday Impact Prize is Camfed, which helps send girls to school in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Malawi and other sub-Saharan African countries (information about Camfed and the other organizations I recommend are at KristofImpact.org). I’ve followed Camfed for many years, and it’s a bargain: A year in high school costs about $150, a year in elementary school only about $30. As grand prize winner, Camfed receives $100,000 from a reader to kick off the fund-raising. |
One of the things I particularly love about Camfed is that when these young women get an education and end up in better jobs, they pay it forward by helping other girls get an education. In fact, these Camfed graduates now support more children in school than Camfed donors do. So when you educate a girl through Camfed, you start a ripple that ends up transforming the lives of many others. |
Another winner is OneGoal, which helps American high school students — 96 percent of them Black or brown — in low-income schools and steers them toward college and lifelong success. Of OneGoal students, 99 percent get high school diplomas and 86 percent go on to college. OneGoal is now run by a CEO, Melissa Connelly, who herself lived the life of the students she now helps — and today embodies the difference a helping hand can make. |
The final winner is the Himalayan Cataract Project, also called Cure Blindness, which restores sight to people with cataracts in Asia and Africa — sometimes for as little as $25 a person in materials. I’ve seen many health interventions around the world, and this is one that seems magical: a five-minute surgery in a remote village, and the next day the bandage comes off and the person can see again. (Here’s a video I made in 2015 of the group’s work in Nepal.) Restoring a person’s sight used to be thought of as a miracle; now it can be a holiday gift. |
I suggest donating through KristofImpact.org, because then each of the groups can take advantage of matching funds. I’m once again working with Focusing Philanthropy, a nonprofit I admire, to administer the donations through the website. It will also pay credit card costs so that 100 cents on the dollar will reach the group you donate to. |
My guess is that if you’re struggling to come up with a gift for Aunt Mabel, she would much prefer not another scarf that sits in the closet but rather a donation in her name so that a girl in Malawi goes to school for a year, or so that a farmer in Nepal can see again. And at least in our household, we make holiday donation decisions as a family, and perhaps this column and the related information at KristofImpact.org can fire that discussion. |
This giving guide and Holiday Impact Prize reflects the work of many, many people, including Larry Gilson and his team at Focusing Philanthropy — so huge thanks to all who made this happen. And because we recognize that this year many families have strained finances, I’m also listing a couple of volunteer possibilities for those who may be richer in time than in money. |
One volunteer option is Reading Partners, which uses adults to coach disadvantaged children as they learn to read. The other is CASA, which provides mentors to foster youth. Both are well-run organizations that will help you help others, and perhaps also help you find extra joy and meaning during this difficult holiday season. |
My giving guide column is behind The New York Times paywall, so you may have trouble reaching it if you’ve already hit your monthly limit of articles. But anybody can go to the KristofImpact.org website to learn more about the organizations I’ve chosen, see videos about them, and donate or volunteer. I hope you find these organizations as inspiring and uplifting as I do.
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