Thoughts for the Day

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Fifty-five years ago I was the Choirmistress of a church choir on an RAF base in the UK. Families came and went as they were posted in or out of the camp. It meant having to teach teenagers and children all the basic hymns again for every festival because only half the choir had been there the year before. Each Sunday we had coffee afterwards, and one week someone made a loud complaint that all the tea-towels hadn't been washed for weeks, and there were no clean ones in the cupboard. No-one could work out why, until Padre intervened to say it was someone who had been posted away. We all felt abashed since we had never noticed that the quiet lady who rarely spoke and wasn't on the church council had been doing this simple action, unnoticed for a couple of years. All of us had to review our memories of the woman whose actions spoke louder than any words. I have no idea who she was, but I remember the discussion that day in the kitchen and how we all felt, as vividly as though it were yesterday.

In our reading today Jesus is walking in what was a colonnade on the eastern side of the Temple in Jerusalem. Suddenly he is surrounded by people asking him to prove that he is the Messiah - the one who has come to save God's people. His answer is simple. They should judge him by his actions: his teaching of the people; his compassion for the poor; and his healing of the sick!

Today, may we remember that all our actions speak louder than our words! Our actions should underscore our faith quietly and harmoniously and back up our beliefs so that others can say "See how these Christians love one another".

Father in Heaven,
as Your Son, our Lord Jesus,
taught us to love one another
and to let our actions speak for us,
so may we never forget His command.
Help us not just to apply this rule
to those in our close community or family,
but to those elsewhere,
and especially to those we find difficult.
Amen.