CALLED BY NAME

Read John 10:1-5

I have called you by name; you are mine.

~~Isaiah 43:1~~

The day’s news brought another image of refugees. I had seen many scenes of distraught people huddled together on their perilous sea journey or their long march to safety and new life. This time it was an image of a crowd pressing against an impassable razor-wire fence. Then, over the commentator’s voice, I heard someone call, “Zaria!” Suddenly I no longer saw a crowd but a group of individual people. Like Zaria, each one has his own personal story, her own experiences of horror, fear, loss, pain, and sacrifice, as well as hopes, faith, and loves.

Jesus taught us that while God’s love is for the whole world, it is also very personal. In today’s reading Jesus likened God to the perfect shepherd who knows each sheep by name. God will suffer for and with each one to ensure no one is lost.

From that day on, my prayers have changed. I no longer pray, “Lord, help refugees,” but “Lord, into your loving care Zaria and every other refugee and asylum-seeker like her.” No longer do my prayers come from impersonal concern, but from intimate compassion—closer to the way God lobes each of us. Today I will pray for someone by name.

Colin Harbach (Cumbria, England)

Lord Jesus Christ, give us your compassion to share the pain and joy of individuals in a crowded world of injustice until all our prayers are acts of love. Amen

Jesus is coming! Are you ready?