Around the World with CFCA

A quiet moment of friendship

Lenten reflection: Week 6
By Rev. Kelly Demo, CFCA preacher

This Sunday we begin our journey with Christ toward the tomb. The week begins with a celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends with his resplendent triumph over death. However, throughout the week we walk with Jesus through the valley of the shadow of death as the evil forces of the world close in and eventually overtake him. We watch the agony of betrayal, denial and doubt. We imagine a mother’s suffering at the brutal death of her son.

But tucked within all of this suffering and darkness, we are given a quiet moment of friendship and kindness.

“And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.” (Jn. 13:2b-5)

Through this simple act of gentle servitude, Jesus sets for us the profound example of how we are to live our lives. If we are to lead, we must serve. If we are to love, we must submit. To those over whom we have power, we must become servants. Jesus shows us that we find freedom when we swallow our pride, move our egos to the side, and kneel down to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters. In so doing we are liberated from fear, vanity, the hunger to succeed that is never satisfied and the thirst for material wealth that is never quenched.

The reason I am so proud to work with CFCA is that we have taken the Gospel and translated it into an organizational structure. CFCA’s core values proclaim, “CFCA is grounded in the Gospel call to serve the poor.” In our Ends Statements, which are the guidelines by which CFCA is governed, it is stated, “CFCA’s highest fidelity is with our sponsored persons.”

It is an indescribable joy to work for the children and aging in our projects. At CFCA we see the children, youth and elderly as our bosses. We work for them. We serve them. We strive to make them the center of every decision we make, every program we begin, every prayer we send to God. To have the chance to serve Christ in this way is an honor for which I am deeply grateful.

Reflection questions:
1. Whose feet might God be calling you to wash? How can you do that?
2. When you have been engaged in serving others in the past, what freedoms have you found?

April 1, 2009 at 9:11 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment