The grace of 40 days
A prayer reflecting on what we might make time for during the Lenten season.
Khera raises chickens to help support her family in Kenya
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
The final words of today’s gospel reading remind us to treat others as we would wish to be treated.
We know that this is what is expected of us, and that if we were all able to follow this simple instruction, the world would be a much better place. Yet still we struggle.
It is easy to get waylaid, to put our own desires above their impact on others. We behave thoughtlessly, or even deliberately, towards others in a way that can cause great pain.
We are also reminded, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find.” So perhaps we can ask God today to strengthen in us the desire to treat others fairly, with compassion and kindness.
Khera lives in Kenya, where she is raising chickens to help support her family. She has learnt how to take care of them and has been provided with poultry that are well-suited to the arid landscape. These chickens need much less water to survive than livestock, plus they produce lots of eggs.
Khera also belongs to a women’s group, who work together and support each other. She says her community, “lives with solidarity, love and inner harmony,” and adds, “This community has the spirit of sharing the little we have with one another.”
Knowing that God is always there to hear us and to help us when we struggle, we seek forgiveness today for the times we have forgotten to treat others as we should. We pledge anew to support and share with one another.
Prayer
Generous God, show us how to live together with solidarity, love and inner harmony, so that this world may become a place where all your people might flourish. Amen.
Act
Pray to be filled with God’s grace this Lent, so that we may all be moved to treat each other as we would wish to be treated.