THEY MADE A COMPLAINT

PRAYER MOMENT

Saturday 9 April 2016   

THEY MADE A COMPLAINT

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists mad a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distributions their own widows were being overlooked.” (Acts 6:1-7)

Reflection. Shortly after the birth of the Church, which Luke describes as mirroring the birth of Jesus in his first book, problems arise. Here is one: a complaint about discrimination. It is rapidly and effectively dealt with. In the process we have the emergence of what later became known as the office of deacon, which served the Church for centuries, then fell into abeyance and has been recently revived. It is one of those moments when a crisis leads to a new leap forwards and it reminds us of the role of crises in our own personal and civic lives. The pain that we want to avoid is the very stuff that leads us to new heights.

Prayer. Lord, let us not be discouraged in the face of crises but may we see in them your call to new openings. Amen