Eastertide
May 18, 2018
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:22-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. –Romans 8:26-27
This is one of my favorite scriptures because it assures me that even in my weakest moments I can depend on my Advocate to translate the mishmash of my mind into something meaningful and right.
We talk a lot of modeling our lives in the ways of Jesus, but I do not hear much about following the patterns of the Holy Spirit, which is also an example of how we are to live.
There is a program now that does just that for abused and neglected children following the role model of the Advocate. Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASA for short are assigned the responsibility of being an advocate for the child involved. Children get lost in all the challenges of court intervention. Even if their parents are abusive or neglectful in the eyes of others they are still the child’s parents and have been their primary source of learning about life. I remember a child in foster care whose mother suffered from severe hallucinations. She had the children dodging unseen airplanes bombing them inside their house. The foster child told me until he was in foster care he thought that was the way all mothers were, that was his normal. We did not have CASA volunteers when I worked in child welfare, but they serve such an important role in redeeming the lives of children while protecting the fragile relationship of parenting as much as possible.
There are many places for advocates to make a difference in the lives of not only children but the elderly, persons with disabilities, the homeless. Look around and see where your talents and skills might be used as an Advocate.
Prayer: Thank you God for the gift of the Holy Spirit and thank you for all those who willing heed your call to advocate for others. Amen.