Thought for 11 March 2024

I Corinthians 13:2-3

² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge;

and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.  ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (King James version)

² I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains—but if I have no love, I am nothing. ³ I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned—but if I have no love, this does me no good. (Good News version)

Last Thursday, I attended a charity event in the Drygate just off High Street in Glasgow.  It was organised by an old acquaintance of mine who is a musician and head of the music department in a secondary school down the Ayrshire coast.  A friend of his, also a musician, had suffered a freak accident almost 5 years ago.  He had stepped off a high kerb in the centre of Glasgow, fallen and landed awkwardly and was unable to get up.  It turns out he had sustained an injury that left him paralysed in both legs and one arm.  The charity event was held to purchase him a special type of wheelchair that could raise and support him in a standing position and generally help improve the quality of his life as it now is.  It was a sell-out, 400 people attended and a substantial amount of money was raised for this good cause.

On Saturday, my wife and I went back into Glasgow for a meal using a voucher we had been given at Christmas time.  On our way back to Central Station, we saw ‘Street Pastors’ at work.  Street Pastors is an interdenominational, Christian organisation, working in partnership with local churches, Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland.  They engage with a variety of people who go to Glasgow for a night out but might become vulnerable and require support for a safe onward or homeward journey and they also work with homeless people and those who are begging.  Some of the people they help just need to charge their phones or use a toilet while others need some warmth and a cup of tea and toast.  Most weeks they have vulnerable people who require help which involves providing care, compassion and a bit of problem solving to work out how best to help them.  Every week, prayers are answered, and they can usually manage to get people to a stage that they can get home safely and it is staffed by Christian men and women.  It is all voluntary and the volunteers get to serve Christ in fulfilling and practical ways.

When we had a reading in Church yesterday from 1 Corinthians 13, the reader read from the King James version.  In the more modern versions of the bible, the word ‘charity’ that is used in the King James version is replaced by the word ‘love’ in the more modern versions.  This chapter from the New Testament features at many weddings because of its description of what love looks like.  In the first example of charity above, the organiser and other friends and musicians who took part because of their love for their friend who was paralysed and by giving of their time and talents, it was a practical way in which they could help him.  In the second example of charity, it involved people giving freely of their time and talents to help complete strangers because it provided them with an opportunity to serve God and their fellow man.  I wondered yesterday whether it made the meaning any less by the use of the word ‘charity’ instead of the word ‘love’ but after considering this difference, I came to the conclusion that the two words are pretty much one and the same when charity is delivered with honesty and when love is demonstrated by actions.

Prayer - Heavenly Father, help us to be charitable to others by giving of our time, our resources and talents willingly and in a spirit of love thus demonstrating the love you have for us in the way we treat and react to others in our day to day lives.  Help us consider those who are worse off than ourselves and have to face daily challenges and difficulties that we cannot even imagine.   Amen