Lent is not only a time of sacrifice and prayer, it is also a time of service to one’s neighbors, to put your body where your mouth is, so to speak. Service to a hurting and broken world takes conscious action on our part, and not just a kind thought during church or an acknowledgement by means of a donation or a nod as we pass by.
I am as guilty, or more so, than the next in writing or speaking about the suffering of others, but not seeking out those who have lost hope and providing what they need. Lent is a time to pray to God for the strength to look for God in the faces of the poor, the oppressed, and the abused, and to pray for guidance as to what to do and do it.
You hear often that lent is journey. A journey much like the path once taken by the Good Samaritan. His travels took him past a man dying in a ditch, a victim of evil. Our daily journey brings us to similar encounters with our brothers and sisters, and we are asked to care for them not pass them by. Will what you believe be manifest in your actions?
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