VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I hope that my weekly note and prayer find You well. It has been a very cold week and I trust that You have been able to keep warm and healthy.

This week it is Our turn to focus on Christian unity and solidarity.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best known passages of Scripture, yet one that never seems to lose its power to challenge indifference to suffering and to inspire solidarity. It is a story about crossing boundaries that calls our attention to the bonds that unite the whole human family.

Luke 6:35-36
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Now let Us think of those Christians who are being persecuted across the world. I know the magazine has a significant foreign readership, so it may be You who are being persecuted in Your own land. Let Us join with Them in a process of self-reflection as They consider what it means to love Our neighbour in the midst of a security crisis. Communities in the British-Irish context may be less vulnerable to acts of mass violence than in foreign communities, but there are still many living with the memory and/or the threat of most serious violence.

Let Us pray.

Let’s be thankful for the myriad of riches We possess that no-one can prize from Us because We are protected and united, privileged to have the fall-back of higher forces that know and love Us, who can distinguish between the Christian virtues and the dark path of Satan. Be the light in the darkness and burn evil with Your Truth. Reach out to those who are persecuted and stand in the way of those who seek to persecute others unjustly.

Luke 10:25-37
32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.

God Bless You all. Think please about those who need help and Your prayers. Have a lovely Sunday and a pleasant week to follow.

Lord Jesus, who prayed that all might be one,
we pray to you for the unity of all Christians,
according to your will, according to your means.
May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division,
to see our sin and to hope beyond all hope. Amen.