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JESU, JESU FILL
US WITH YOUR LOVE
(Note: we had
permission to print the text during Lent but have had to remove
the text after Lent. Refer to your hymnal for the text.)
Several years
ago, when I served as a teacher for a second-grade Bible study
class, the children read about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet,
and then participated in a foot-washing service in class. I
wondered whether second-graders could be serious and gain some
understanding from the experience, so I had each one repeat as he
or she washed a friend’s feet: “I am doing this because you are my
friend and I care for you.” It was truly a remarkable lesson. The
students were serious, loving and, indeed, nearly reverent. I
think the idea of humbling oneself to be of service to another
was, for the moment, understood.
Similarly, when I
served as a helper on a recent mission trip to the Dominican
Republic, part of my
assignment was teaching children how to wash their hands and clean
their fingernails. Washing their
little soiled hands and speaking gently to them in a language they
didn’t understand was a humbling and touching lesson for me.
We can serve
others in so many ways, both locally and globally. We have only to
seize the opportunity. We
all know there are so many needs to be met. In the serving line at
the Saturday morning
breakfast for the homeless, we meet so many who have needs we can
only imagine. Multiple
races, different circumstances and many disabilities are
represented. It becomes clear
that these are our neighbors. As the hymn says,
“These are the
ones we will serve, these are the ones we will love; all these are
neighbors to us and you.”
Gracious and
loving Lord, we praise you for our many blessings and ask for your
loving guidance, that we may share our abundance with those in
need. Grant that we will serve you with humility and with
thanksgiving in our hearts.
Lotus Gerards
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