Lent Day 7 February 29

Lenten Reflection for Day 7

Date: February 29, 2012

Author: John Harris

Bible Passage: Philippians 2:12–13 (NRSV)

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Reflection: God is always at work in our neighbors, even those “curmudgeonly” neighbors who you wish, on occasion, would just dry up and blow away. It is easy to see God at work in folks like Barbara McKinley and Al Evans. Barbara was always willing to pitch in and see a project to completion, whether it was the Thanksgiving in-gathering or an advocacy issue with the Upper Valley Interfaith Project. Al was always ready with a kind word and a joke that would make even the most resolute “Grinch” smile. It was easy to look into their faces and see the face of Jesus reflected back into yours.

But what about those difficult co-workers, fellow students, and neighbors who appear not to have a drop of human kindness or empathy left in them? How is the light of Christ reflected in them? We need to look at the difficult people in our lives as fellow travellers trying to work out their salvation with the same “fear and trembling” as we are. We need to keep the communication channels open with them, to go out of way to empathize with them, to be conduits for their stories and experiences, and, if need be, “kill” them with kindness. Yes, Christ is found in the most unexpected places, on the cross, in a manger, in the pregnancy of a teenage girl, and even in the face of a troublesome acquaintance. God’s grace is a gift to them just as it to every person in God’s creation.

Prayer: Dear God, we see Jesus’ reflected glory in every person. Help us be good neighbors to everyone, as they come to recognize, in their own due time, the saving grace of Your only Son. Amen.