Think of times when you have heard, and responded to a call for help. It may have come from a child...or a stranger. It may be a clear call. Or it may be a vague, general plea for assistance....for companionship...for aid in the midst of suffering. It may be task oriented..."Can you give me a hand here?" or it may be a matter of the heart..."I'm at the end of my rope!"

When we respond to such a call, though, we often don't know precisely how we will assist until we actually get there. Until we get up and go we will never know the nature of the call.

Is it a false alarm? Is it worse than we had imagined? Will we show up to the place in need, resolve the issue and then move on? Or will we, like the folks in this week's reading from Acts, stay awhile?

So many possibilities... and they all would be snuffed out if we said "no time right now..." "maybe later...."

First and foremost, we are called to be helpers... Not a day goes by without somebody calling us in some way. Listen for it...