April 19 - 25, 2020: Mark 7:24-30
Refresh: Pray to be used by God to heal divisions and break down barriers.
Read: Mark 7:24-30
Reflect: Newscasts, newspapers, and online sources all tell the same story. Our world is full of division, disagreements, and barriers to unity and brotherhood. Our story this week is one of a God who heals divisions and breaks down barriers.
The mother in the story is of a different nationality; a different background, yet she kneels at the feet of Jesus with a request. I have always admired her courage. She had to have known that the disciples might scorn her. She must have felt the prejudice in that space, but she must also have known that this Jesus was different than the crowd, different than the rulers, and someone with life giving power.
Jesus uses this opportunity to show the disciples that his kingdom is all inclusive. “Jesus spends much of his life breaking down barriers between people who are different. He does this with men and women, elevating the status of women, and teaching men to treat them as equals.....He does this with political parties, fostering relationships between those on the left and those on the right in hopes that they might see each other not as enemies but as brothers and sisters.” - Alex Bryan,
Living God’s Love
As citizens of a deeply divided democracy in the middle of a pandemic, God calls us not to just read this story. He calls us to live and love well, including all in our circle of care.
Respond: Reach out to someone this week who has a different viewpoint than you.
Research: “Do Justice”
Edited by Nathan Brown and Joanna Darby
Signs Publishing