Counting the Days: December 19, 2025

Lifting and Filling

Jalisha Pone
Senior Director of Development

Read: Luke 1:52-53

“The Gospel forbids us to draw lines between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor.”
— Dorothy Day (AD 1897 – AD 1980)

Dorothy Day once said, “The Gospel forbids us to draw lines between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor.” Her words resonate deeply within the Methodist University community, where students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends bring diverse stories, hopes, and struggles to one shared campus.

Mary’s song in Luke proclaims that God lifts the humble and fills the hungry with good things. At MU, we see many forms of hunger: students hungry for belonging as they navigate new responsibilities, faculty hungry for encouragement amid demanding seasons, and staff hungry for rest as they faithfully serve behind the scenes. Alumni and friends may hunger for purpose, connection, or reassurance as they continue their journeys.

The symbol of the loaf and cup reminds us that God meets us not in our perfection but in our need. Christ nourishes us just as we are, offering grace instead of judgment. Within our Monarch community, this nourishment appears in countless small but holy ways: a professor who provides a listening ear, a coach who encourages character over competition, a donor who opens the door for a student to stay enrolled, or a friend who shows up at the right moment.

Dorothy Day challenges us to extend that same grace, to resist choosing who is “worthy” of compassion and instead widen our welcome. Advent calls us to notice the humble, the tired, the anxious, and the overlooked. It invites us to participate in God’s lifting and filling by offering kindness, dignity, and care.

Prayer: God who lifts the lowly, as I walk across campus-past the quad, the halls, the practice fields, the study spaces, show me someone carrying a quiet hunger. Enable me to offer one act of care or encouragement so that I may reflect Christ, who still fills the hungry with good things. Amen.