 We are starting 2021! Usually on the first day of the year, we look towards the future and ask ourselves about what this year holds to us. In the Lectionary of today there are two well-known recommended Bible texts for meditation. Together, they can offer a vision that we are prompted to have in the beginning of the year: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 and Matthew 25:31-46. In Ecclesiastes, we may find comfort knowing that there is a season for everything. It may help us deal with the anxieties of battling the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of the first vaccines available and the alarm over an outbreak of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus. It sounds like “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (3:4). The reflection about our time continues in the reading of the final judgment in Matthew: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” (25:35-36). “When was that time?” we may ask ourselves in our meditation. As World Day of Prayer, we hope that our services are one of those times that we cared for the other in prayer and action. As we look forward to the year of 2021, let’s make it a time of trust in this God that is with us always and in all seasons. Let’s be #WDPUnitedInPrayer. We wish you all a Happy New Year! - Rosângela Oliveira, WDPIC Executive Director
2 Comments
9/14/2022 12:04:21 pm
The first passage speaks of God's activity in creation and his care and protection over all things, but also about his justice which is reflected in human suffering and death. The second passage speaks of God's ultimate victory over all things, including death itself. Both passages can help us understand how God works through us to bring about his greater purposes. 9/29/2022 04:43:37 pm
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