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| "Omo Valley Sunset, Ethiopia" by Rod Waddington |
Acts 11
†
A Greeting
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 25:1)
A Reading
At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit
that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this
took place during the reign of Claudius. The disciples determined
that according to their ability, each would send relief to the
believers living in Judea; this they did, sending it to the elders
by Barnabas and Saul.
(Acts 11:27-30)
Music
Meditative Verse
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,
to bring forth food from the earth.
(Psalmgreetin 104:14)
A Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Open my eyes to see as you see and weep as you weep
Open my heart to love the broken and care for those without hope
Open my hands to hold what I have lightly and to share cheerfully
Open my mouth to speak for the voiceless and to shout for mercy
Open my ears to the gentle whispers of your Spirit and
to obey what you say
Open up my life to the call of your voice
and the needy cries of the dying.
from "Written prayers on hunger for you to use in your church",
a resource of tearfund.org
Verses for the Day
He lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
(Psalm 107:36-37)
†
The story of the early church reads like a signpost, offering arrows pointing in various directions with who is going where. As miracles are performed and conversions made, boundaries are broken and theologies and customs are deeply challenged. The Jerusalem community confronts Peter on converting Gentiles and so he retells his story of Cornelius in order to convince them. Their response is ‘silence’. Unrest. Uncertainty. Fleeing from persecution, Jesus followers head for Phoenicia, Cyprus and particularly Antioch. Barnabas goes to find Paul and bring him there and it is in Antioch that the term “Christian” comes into use. Our reading tells us that the apostles were joined in Antioch by prophets: one named Agabus foresees “severe famine over all the world”. Despite being scattered, persecuted and uncertain about each other, the immediate response of the apostles is to “send relief”. On Day 6 of the LC† Welcoming the Stranger Lenten project, as part of a week on climate refugees, we looked at the many many biblical stories of famine that scattered peoples from their homelands and conditions. (Click here to revisit that page.) In 2016, unprecedented droughts in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Mauritania, Mali, Zimbabwe and South Africa resulting from El Nino-caused lack of rain in the all-important rainy seasons, have left these areas devastated. Each of the regions affected normally produce the grain for that country’s food staples. For a second or third year in a row, they no longer can. To a person experiencing drought and famine, there is only the hot sun, the dry earth and a longing for water. The apostles’ impulse to “send relief” means the bread of life in the words of Jesus can become the grain that feeds the hungry.
The next devotional day is Monday, June 6th.
LC† Acts of the Spirit is a project of
Lutherans Connect / Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto.
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