Ordinary Time

Pause

The world doesn’t need a miracle from above to end hate, oppression, injustice, and inequality. It doesn’t need an act of God to end the suffering we see happening.

The world needs us, followers of Jesus, to say “Enough already!” and to work together to be God’s hands and feet.

Listen

Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God.

Ephesians 2:14-16

Think

We live in a divided world. And it usually feels easier to maintain those divisions and draw the lines deeper. So why shall we persist in love and unity with those who are different than us?

If we spend too much time fighting and too little time understanding, nothing gets done. If we see others within a church, community, or country as an enemy to be defeated, we fall apart. Friends – even good friends – can have differing opinions. These differences do not have to make us enemies or adversaries; however, the way we respond or react to one another might.

Love says we can still walk together and help the suffering and serve the poor. Grace proclaims that we may have theological disagreements, but we can still work together and feed the hungry and free the oppressed. There is no divide between us because there is Christ who unites us, love that calls us, and compassion that moves us.

Ed Stallworth

Pray

Lord, lead us to be united in Christ. When I encounter others who think or believe differently than me, may love, grace, and justice be the shared values that tie us together. Amen.

Go

You are the answer to the prayers of the hungry, lonely, bullied, oppressed, and hurting.

What will you do today – not tomorrow or someday – to be the hands and feet of God in your world?