God led a people out of slavery in Egypt, making them his chosen people, liberating them on a spiritual level, a psychological level, a religious level, an economic level, a social level, and a political level. He had a special preference for this group of slaves, this group of outcasts. This story is told in the book of Exodus in the Bible. We as disciples of Christ are called to serve the poor and vulnerable, to reach out to them and help them. May we respond to this call.
From the US Bishops’ website:
Pray: That the Holy Spirit would give all Christians the courage and humility to serve Christ by serving the vulnerable.
Reflect: In St. Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells his followers that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him. In other words, we serve Jesus when we serve others, especially the poor and vulnerable. Taking it a step further, if we treat the poor and vulnerable with callous disregard, then we are scorning Jesus. Over the course of two thousand years, the Church has set up charitable institutions, such as adoption services, hospitals, schools, refugee resettlement services, and more, in order to obey Christ’s call to serve. We serve the world, not just as individuals, but as communities. Missionary discipleship is a communal activity, and it is often carried out in institutions. Religious freedom here in the U.S. is, at its core, about the space to carry out our ministries. We are called to serve others, and we work for religious freedom so that we may be able to serve others, especially through our ministries.
Act: All of us are called to follow Jesus Christ as missionary disciples. Consider taking a few minutes to pray and reflect on how God might be calling you to serve.
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