Care
by Kathy Matuschka
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‘For when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk’ (1 Corinthians 11:21).
As we gather in the name of Jesus Christ, we are united in Christian community. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can look at one another and ourselves as people who were hanging around on a street corner when suddenly we found ourselves invited to the wedding of a prince!
In today’s text, the believers at Corinth are criticised for their disorderly behaviour at the agape feast – a combined potluck meal and celebration of the Lord’s supper. The richer converts who could bring more to the shared meal were also consuming more, oblivious to the needs of those who had less and were quite possibly hungry a lot of the time. The behaviour of the wealthier people was considered disorderly because of their rowdy partying, and also because they were not following the law of love, but rather staying comfortably in their existing cliques.
According to this text and many others in both the Old and New Testaments, a fitting response to our adoption into the kingdom of God is to show care and compassion toward the vulnerable among us.
This is so important at a time when, due to economic changes related to COVID-19, we are at risk of seeing an increasing gap between the richest and the poorest. There are so many opportunities to care in our Christian communities, neighbourhoods, and wider communities. We need gentle and humble hearts so that we can follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in caring for others.
Holy Spirit, give me eyes to notice the vulnerable people around me, a generous heart, and confidence to do the next right and loving thing. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
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