Eastertide
May 8, 2016

Scripture Reading: John 17:20-26

‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’—John 17:25-26

I read a story recently about a kid who had traversed, I will not use the words been raised or reared, through his childhood and youth in a variety of foster homes, group homes, and something we call independent living when youths suddenly find themselves on their own with nobody to care. He had a mother who for whatever reason was incapable of mothering and I am not sure he knew who his father was. There is no mention of him. Amidst the many pages he could have written in the negative about these various living situations, he chose to remember the one foster home where the parents loved and nurtured him and instilled him with hope. I thought of that story when I read the above words from our scripture today and understood the love these foster parents shared is anchored in the love Jesus invests in each of us. I also realized that I would be writing this for distribution on Mother’s Day this year.

I would ask us all today to celebrate foster mothers, and fathers, who understand their calling and live the love it requires. I would encourage all to do whatever they can to surround our children with the love of Christ so that they may know his hope for a world of love not fear or violence, deprivation or despair. I would call on all to enable parents who most likely learned parenting from their own parents who may have done the best they could under the circumstances but could have done better had someone helped them understand the role of parenting.

You are also invited to celebrate the young man at the beginning of this story because he has transitioned into a caring, loving adult against all odds and largely, I think because of the love of one foster family.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for those who choose to dedicate their lives to being good parents both of their own children and the children of others who need the loving nurture of a parent when their own cannot provide it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.