Christian Reflection and Prayer

“On the first day you are to take branches
from luxuriant trees – from palms, willows
and other leafy trees – and rejoice before
the your Lord God for seven days.”
Leviticus 23:40

Every successful organization has learned
to appreciate the different qualities in people.
Some people have amazing vision and
groundbreaking ideas, but when it comes to
caring for details, they totally fall apart. Other
people are great at dotting every “i” and
crossing every “t” but they shy away from the
limelight and prefer working behind the scenes.
It takes all kinds of people to get any initiative
off the ground. The differences between people
are celebrated, because each person’s strength
compensates for the other’s weakness. This is
true unity – not when people work side by side,
but when they fit together like pieces of a puzzle
to make the entire picture beautiful and complete.

What’s your strength? How do you fit into the
human equation? Every team needs a captain
and a manager and a coach and a publicist and
of course, players. It takes all types of people to
make any group successful. Humanity is no
different. The Sages teach that every human
being has his own unique light to add to the world.

FIND YOUR LIGHT AND SHARE IT WITH US ALL!

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

WHEN JESUS CAME TO DINNER
Ruth looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter one more time...

Dear Ruth,
I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."

With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. "Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner."

She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Seven dollars and forty cents. "Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of french bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt satisfied as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

"Hey lady, can you help us, lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them
"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we'd really appreciate it."

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to. "Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."

"Yeah, well, OK lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart. "Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag.

"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.

"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street . . .without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest. "Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. "That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.

Dear Ruth,

It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you too, for the beautiful coat.

Love Always,

Jesus
"Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?"

The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Matthew 25:37-40
(Godvine)

Jesus didn’t say “What you have done for
the middle class, you have done for me.”

As we enter into the final stretch of the
upcoming elections, we need to talk about
the “P” word – Poverty. Both political
conventions talked a lot about the middle
class, but what you didn’t hear much about
was the poor and marginalized. “Opportunity”
was another key word at both conventions
this summer. As Christians, we must be
clear that creating new opportunities must
include poor children and low-income families.

We are called to care for the least of these,
but how does that translate in selecting our
public servants?

HOW DOES IT TRANSLATE IN YOUR
DECISION!

(Sojourners)