Truth seems hard to ascertain these days. Each side has their own spin on the truth and neither side tells “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” That isn’t something new. It was a problem back in Jesus’ day. When Jesus told Pilate that he came to testify to the truth, Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” (John 8:38)
The budget just passed by Congress provides for cutting SNAP and Medicaid for the poor by $1,000,000,000,000 (One trillion dollars). There are plans to eliminate agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as well. We need to ask ourselves why did the government start those programs? During the Great Depression, Catholic Charities asked the government to step in to help the poor. The need was more than the universal Church could handle. Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and many church denominations supplement what the government is doing, through food pantries, soup kitchens, and assistance with utilities, etc.
At First Christian Church one year, we used a string of Prayer Beads to help us meditate upon the events of Holy Week. Each day we had a Scripture passage and a colored bead that we could hold to make the time of meditation more tangible. Unfortunately, I can’t send the prayer beads through the newspaper with this article. But I share with you the Scripture and the color of the bead for each day in case you want to make your own prayer bead string. I hope you will at least meditate on the Scripture each day through Holy Week.
The First Christian Church at 6th and Kickapoo will host the Lenten Lunch at noon on Wednesday, April 9.
The book of Matthew ends with what we call “The Great Commission.” Jesus has already risen from the dead and he is on a mountain in Gallilee with his disciples when he tells them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” It is time that we who call ourselves Jesus’ disciples take that charge seriously.
When I used to go camping with the Boy Scouts, especially summer camp, I did not even bring a flashlight with me because the trails just seemed to be brighter than the surrounding woods no matter whether there was a full moon or no moon.