Week of prayer for Christian Unity

Walking humbly in the way

Readings

• Micah 6:6-8
• Philippians 2:5-11

Commentary

Scripture reminds us that we cannot separate our love for God from our love for others. We love God when we feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner. When we care for and serve “one of the least of these,” we are caring for and serving Christ himself.

But we are called to go beyond giving or serving from a position of power, where we maintain our status above the person to whom we are ministering. How are we to emulate Jesus who, though he was Lord of all, became truly the servant of all? What is power, and how are we to use it and to share it in the work of God?

God calls us to honour the sacredness and dignity of each member of God’s family. Caring for, serving and loving others reveals not who they are, but who we are. As Christians, we must be unified in our responsibility to love and care for others, as we are cared for and loved by God. In so doing, we live out our shared faith through our actions in service to the world and we find our true calling as servants of the Servant King.

Reflection

Yours are the power and the glory.

Yet we see your greatest greatness 

when you stoop to serve.

Creator, give us the power

to be powerless

and bestow on us the dignity 

of the servant rich in love.

Prayer

Lord of the power and the glory, 

you became for us the servant of all. 

Show us the power and the glory of servanthood 

and enable us to minister to your world 

according to its needs and our abilities.

Questions

• Where in your personal life could you bring blessing by yielding power?
• How could the churches in your community share power to become more effective in service?
• Find out about a country which has little political power, but which has much to teach you.

Go and Do

(see www.ctbi.org.uk/goanddo)

• What power do you have? Put that power to use for the service of others.
• Find three ways in which the churches in your area could serve your community. And act on those things!
• Agree as a group of churches on a project that empowers people locally, nationally or internationally, and form an action plan to put that into practice.