It would be too easy to find a carol with love in its lyrics, so I chose today: Good King Wenceslas, a carol about love. A preacher from nine centuries ago wrote: “…his deeds I think you know better than I could tell you; for, as is read in his Passion, no one doubts that, rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God's churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty, so much so that he was considered, not a prince, but the father of all the wretched”. This was definitely love in action. James 1:27: Real, true religion from God the Father’s perspective is about caring for the orphans and widows who suffer needlessly and resisting the evil influence of the world. (The Voice).
Early on in the Christian Church, it was made clear to the apostles that widows were being neglected. The apostles realised that they were not able to do everything: So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them...’ Acts 6:2-4a (NIV)
There can be no doubt that we do God’s work when we care for those who are less fortunate or suffering in some way: psalm 68:5 - Father of orphans, champion of widows, is God in his holy house. (The Message)
Wenceslas did not just do good works – he had the divine God within. When his page became weary, he was invited to step into his master’s footprints and there was warmth in them. John Mason Neale’s words remind us that -
Therefore, Christian men, be sure wealth or rank possessing
Ye, who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.
Do we have wealth? Yes. If we have a basic roof over our heads, we are better off than 2% of the world’s population. If we have a secure and warm dwelling with sanitation and clean water on tap, we are better off than 20% of the world’s population.
What practical action can we undertake? One suggestion I have is to move our traditional autumn Harvest Festival (invented by Robert Hawker in 1834 in a farming community in Cornwall) to June – so that Food Banks have stocks of food for the school summer holidays. Just a thought.
Let us pray:
Generous Father God, we are privileged to live in a developed country. Encourage us to generosity, knowing that you will meet our needs, and that we will be blessed in supporting those less well-off, in the UK and abroad.
Jesus our Saviour, let us never take our blessings for granted and hoard what you have blessed us with.
Holy indwelling Spirit, warm our feet as we step out to glorify God. Amen
Elaine Kinchin