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“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa One morning recently, I was listening to the news when I heard a reporter speak to a Ukrainian man about the continuing Russian attacks on that country. At one point, the man said, “I feel like God doesn’t love me enough.” I don’t mind telling you, that was a heartbreaking moment for me. Not only was it a condemnation of our God but a condemnation of God’s people, including me. I can’t begin to understand what that Ukrainian man and his countrymen and -women are experiencing, and I can’t be there in person. There is no way to reach out and console them. It must be unimaginably difficult to see your country attacked and overrun, your friends and family fleeing, afraid, while it seems that larger, more powerful countries do nothing. I pray that the man found someone who showed him God’s love, and I pray that each person in the war-torn nation of Ukraine will find someone who will show him or her God’s love. Whether they are near or far, people need to know that God loves them, and you and I need to be the channels of God’s love. You can search online for “ways to show God’s love” and find thousands of results. Usually, these include practices like listening, encouragement, kindness, prayer, sharing burdens, comforting, reassuring, sharing time and resources, and others. They are how we can “spread the Gospel” because the most powerful Bible story doesn’t make much difference to someone who is in fear for his/her life, as the Ukrainian man was and possibly still is. James wrote, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (Jas. 2:15-16 New International Version). The same is true of emotional needs. Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan wrote, “When evening shadows and the stars appear / And there is no one there to dry your tears / I could hold you for a million years / To make you feel my love” (“Make You Feel My Love”). What will we do to make people feel God’s love? When night falls, how will we let the people of Ukraine and others know they are not alone? How will we dry their tears? How will we share God’s embrace? Our arms must become God’s arms, and our hands God’s hands. We United Methodists can give to organizations like UMCOR to help with meals, shelter, and basic health care. Our church’s quilters have provided quilts, blankets, and afghans to be shipped to Ukrainians in need, and we can support that effort here at home. And, as always, we can pray, and have faith that the people of Ukraine will know that we are sending forth prayers of love. One of our congregation’s daily Bible readings for Lent included Exodus 2:24-25. “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” (NIV). God heard God’s people groaning, was moved, and responded by sending Moses. God told him, “‘And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you . . .’” (Exod. 3:9-10a NIV). The whole third chapter describes God’s call to Moses. Of course, Moses was hesitant and made excuses, just as we might be tempted to do, but God sent him anyway. Today, God sends us. God’s words echo down through the ages, “‘I am sending you . . .’” Perhaps God is saying those words to you and me today. Perhaps someone you know, or I know doesn’t feel God’s love. If so, we can be the vessels of that love. Perhaps you or I will meet someone soon, and when we do, I pray that we will be found ready. “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” (Lam. 3:19-22 NIV.) |
