God Pause for Thursday, 6/26/2014
/Luther Seminary God Pause
Thursday, 6/26/2014 Reading: Matthew 10:40-42
Today I talked with a man whose wife of nearly 60 years has been taken to a care facility. Now he wanders through his days, wondering why the world he once knew seems to have left him behind. In one moment he says, "I'm glad she's being taken care of." An instant later he looks off into space, "I think I miss her more than she misses me." Whenever and wherever we walk in our communities, we meet similar folks dealing with life's difficulties. St. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians, "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us." I realized today there was nothing I could do to take away his pain. Instead, I offered him a cup of coffee and a listening ear. He talked and he cried. We put our hands in one another's and prayed. Then he got up, looked at the ceiling, and thanked me for my time. Was Jesus there? Yes, I believe he was in and with both of us!
Lord Jesus, our greatest reward is recognizing you in the face of each other. Open our eyes, please. Open our eyes! Amen.
Steve Wigdahl Senior Pastor, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Naples, Fla. Master of Divinity, 1984
Matthew 10:40-42 (NRSV)
40 "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."
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