Thought for the Day – Wednesday 13th May
Leviticus 19 verses 9 and 10 say this:
‘When
you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your
field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your
vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave
them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.’
This is but one of the values given by God to his
people in Leviticus in order to encourage them in their ‘Ritual and Moral
Holiness’. A value we can later see being fulfilled in the story of Ruth where
having no means of her own, being poor and alien, she goes into the field of
Boaz to glean and where we see Boaz ‘goes that extra mile’ morally to aid her and
ensures that she has not just the gleanings of the harvest but also some of the
good ears of grain too.
This verse came to mind when I was thinking about it being Christian
Aid Week and like so many others things this year we, as a congregation and as
individuals, being unable to participate in it as we would normally do. This
will be the case for so many congregations and communities up and down our land
and so, as a result, I am sure that the work of Christian Aid among ‘the poor
and the alien’ will be greatly impacted in the year to come – as it will for so
many other charities too.
Yet, are we not morally obliged by God as his people today to try and
do all we can to support ‘the poor and the alien’?
I know the people of our local communities are rallying around each
other wonderfully to make sure the needs of ‘the poor and alien’ among us are
being met – making sure food, medicines and indeed company is being provided –
but what of our neighbours further afield – what of all those partners with whom
Christian Aid works trying to bring to ‘the poor and alien’ in their
communities abundant life, a quality of life? Surely we must not forget them,
even if we are worried about our own lack of resources for our own church here and
managing to pay our commitments on time and immersed in all things
‘coronavirus’ at the moment.
Christian Aid have worked really hard to try and bring ‘virtual’
resources to us during this time of Lockdown like Daily Reflections, Daily
Quizzes, Virtual Worship, even a Quiztain Aid pre-recorded online quiz and all
of these can be found at their website htpps://www.christian aid.org.uk --
where by the way there are also details of how you can give to the work of Christian
Aid this year should you wish to do so.
So, please do take a little time to visit their site this week, take
time to reflect on that moral obligation given to us by God to care for ‘the
poor and alien’ among us – near and far – and take time to reflect on how you
might fulfil that obligation to God.
A Prayer for Times of Isolation from Christian Aid
‘For I am convinced that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to
come… will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.’ (Romans 8:38-39)
God of heaven and earth, in these times of isolation, apart from loved
ones, distant from friends, away from neighbours, thank you that there is
nothing in all of creation, not even coronavirus that is able to separate us
from your love. And may your love that never fails continue to be shared
through the kindness of strangers looking out for each other, for neighbours
near and far all recognising our shared vulnerability, each of us grateful for
every breath, and willing everyone to know the gift of a full and healthy life.
Keep us all in your care. Amen
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