Christian Reflection and Prayer

“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does
this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD
brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.’”
Exodus 13:14

The Hebrew word for “knowledge” is chochma. Broken down,
that word becomes coach mah, which translates as “the power
of asking what.” The more powerful our questions, the greater
our wisdom. We must teach our children and ourselves to ask
questions. It’s the only way to arrive at the most powerful and
life-changing knowledge. When he was 89, Isidor had an MRI
done, a lifesaving procedure made possible by one of his
inventions — an invention that was the result of all his
questioning.

What good question can you ask today? “How can I make the
world a better place?” “Do things always have to be as they are?”
“What would I try if I wasn’t afraid to fail?” Or simply, “Can I be a
better person today than I was yesterday?”

The more we ask, the more we’ll know, and the better the
questions, the greater the wisdom to follow.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

Verse

Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you,
this poor widow has put in more than all those who are
contributing to the treasury.'
Mark 12:43

Voice

People may come to our communities because they want to
serve the poor; they will only stay once they have discovered
that they themselves are poor.
Jean Vanier

Prayer

God, may all who serve the poor do so in humility. May our
service reveal our own poverty. And may we honor the
contribution of the poor widow just as we honor the gifts of
the wealthy. Amen.

Elizabeth Edwards

On December 6, 2010, the Edwards' family announced that she
had stopped cancer treatment after her doctors advised her that
further treatment would be unproductive, the cancer having
metastasized to her liver. She had been advised she had several
weeks to live. Her family members, including her estranged
husband John, were with her. She posted her last message
on Facebook:

    "You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life
by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the
power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me
through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the
good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives,
for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are
certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength
and patience as we would like. It's called being human.

    But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and
in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days
I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for
that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and
gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support
and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."

Elizabeth Edwards died of metastatic breast cancer on
December 7, 2010, at home in Chapel Hill, surrounded by her
family and friends