15th. May 2020. Daily Devotion.
This week is Christian Aid Week, and we are reminded of our need to support the work of Christian Aid in the wider world, especially in its poorer areas.
Today’s reading from 2 Kings Chapter 5 tells the story of how the blessings which belonged to the people of Israel are extended to a foreigner in need, to Naaman the Syrian commander.
The story is replete with proto Christian teaching as in it we find the prophet Elisha, like Christ, is using his spiritual gift not only to the benefit of the Jews, but to the Gentiles, as well. When we think about this, we must think of Christ and the Samaritan woman, for like Elisha, He demonstrated the prophecies that were spoken by prophets from David all the way until Simeon praised the infant Jesus in the Temple: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:30-32)
It is no accident that Naaman is cured by immersion in the River Jordan and emerges with skin like that of a child. It is a prophecy of baptism by water when men might be born again. It is a reminder that, like the slave girl, we have both opportunity and obligation to spread abroad the love and the grace of God
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?”
But when Elisha the man of God heard, he sent to the king, saying, “Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
So Naaman came and Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?”
But his servants said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it?” So, he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2 Kings 5 (Abridged)
Prayer
Good Morning Heavenly Father and thank You for the glory of the sun
And thank You for the health I need to get my duty done.
I shall devote the hours of this golden day to You,
by honouring Your Holy Name in everything I do.
I will pursue my daily art without complaint or fear
and spend my every effort to be friendly and sincere.
I know there have been many days that I have whiled away.
But this is one that I will try, to make Your special day.
And so once more, Good Morning Heavenly Father. And please depend on me
because I wish to honour You for all eternity. Amen.
Prayer for Christian Unity
O almighty God, who has built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head cornerstone: Grant that all who profess the name of Christ may be joined together in unity of spirit and faith, setting aside all doctrinal quibbling of our fallible human minds; that we may be a holy temple, a royal priesthood, acceptable to you, living in unity and Godly love as you have commanded us to do .Amen.
Meditation
“Do not fret, for God did not create us to abandon us.” ~ Michelangelo Buonarroti
Blessing
May God the Father bless us; may Christ take care of us; the Holy Ghost enlighten us all the days of our life. The Lord be our defender and keeper of body and soul, both now and for ever, to the ages of ages.Amen.by Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, 958 A.D.
Please take time to read this letter to the NQ Congregation via the Rev’d Dr Iain Whyte re the work of Christian Aid in Zimbabwe.
Dear Iain
It is my honour to share the following with the minister and the North Queensferry congregation.
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I am delighted that you have been such long-standing and faithful supporters of the work of Christian Aid, and I am pleased to be able to share examples with you of the kind of projects we have in Zimbabwe, which mirror similar projects all around the world, as we partner with the very poorest communities.
Zimbabwe work….
Zimbabwe work is divided into 3 streams of accountable governance, resilience building and humanitarian response. All our work focuses on reducing poverty, caused by lack of power as is the case in most of the poor and or inequalities bestowed by society- hence our work in accountable governance aim to address that. Natural calamities, climate change and global pandemics also cause poverty, suffering and death; our work in humanitarian responses is aimed to serve lives, help them recover and develop. In the resilience building markets works ensure the poor have access to basic services to improve on their livelihoods.
In our humanitarian response the country programme managed to assist more than 2000, households that have been affected by the cyclone induced disaster in Chipinge, Buhera and Bikita with rehabilitation of water points, building houses and toilets and helping the families get inputs in the form of seeds so that they can start their livelihoods again.
In markets and resilience building, Mudzi and Mutoko districts, Christian AID is supporting 14, 000 households to develop capacity in doing livelihood activities that are resilient to climate change. Together with their institutions they are trained in disaster risk reduction, how to produce climate smart ways and including collection of non-timber forest products and generating value out of the normally underutilised forest products. Farmers, in Mutare, Binga and around Harare are trained on production of crops and small livestock like chicken and linked to lucrative markets like selling direct to hotels so they can increase their income. In our accountable governance work
In our accountable governance work 6 districts in Manicaland- Mutasa, Buhera, Chipinge, Nyanga, Chimanimani, Makoni are addressing GBV targeting men and faith leaders. Working through church structures e.g. women and men’s guilds, pastors, youth fellowship. Men’s are encouraged to reach out to men in the community and traditional leaders. Direct and indirect reach should be 360,000 both men and women. While in Matebeleland North – 2 districts Binga and Lupane and Manicaland Mutasa and Mutare are addressing marginalisation of women and People with disability fostering inclusion in development, decision making participation and social services access. Direct and indirect target of 200,000 – women and PwD.
We know that the world’s poorest countries have the weakest health systems, and that many of the most vulnerable people will be exposed to this deadly virus. They will struggle to cope with any costs of healthcare, and the costs of being unable to earn a living while ill or quarantined. We have launched a coronavirus appeal. If you are in the financial position where you can help us to limit the impact on the communities we work with, then please donate on our website homepage today.
• People in poorer countries will be hit even harder, making every single aspect of our work more important. We must respond quickly.
• Christian Aid and our partners helped communities to face the Ebola crisis. As we prepare to respond now, we will draw on that experience to fight against Coronavirus alongside our sisters and brothers living in poverty.
• We will work with communities on the ground to help limit the impact of the virus, preparing communities to prevent and delay infection.
• It is at times like these – testing times – that we need to recognise we are all in this together.
CAW update and offerings
This year’s Christian Aid Week will undoubtedly be a different experience, but we know supporters like you will do all you can to make it the same life-changing and joyous week we’ve run since 1957. In-person events, such as house-to-house collections and Big Brekkies will not go ahead this year. There will be another opportunity for these types of events to go ahead in the Autumn.
But we still want the virtual Christian Aid Week to be a celebration of our determination to change the world, coming together as one community against global poverty. In fact, now more than ever our gifts, prayers and action are desperately needed. We are moving Christian Aid Week online! We are building a vibrant, virtual Christian Aid Week so you can take part with our online community. We are developing and promoting some exciting ways to help you join together in fun and fellowship as a community this May. Virtual resources are available on this link Christian Aid Week Resources.
At such a time as this, our God is able.
Netsai Mafinyani