Daily Devotion for Monday 10th June 2024

…learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
 
Reflection

In August 2023, the Council for World Mission (CWM) facilitated a mission consultation for the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar (PCM) in Yangon to discuss the way forward for their Mission Support Programme project.  Implementation of this has stalled since the military coup.  Listening to the perspectives from the PCM leadership, we understood that the ongoing political turmoil in Myanmar continues to be the most important challenge for the global Christian Church. When the new mission support project proposal reached the CWM Secretariat three months later, it suggested that our small acts of accompanying PCM did spark progress. Beside mission support initiatives, in collaboration with our global partners, CWM continues to stand in solidarity with the PCM and the Tahan community in tangible ways by resourcing the relocation of PCM Agape Hospital.
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The ethos of accompanying churches in mission calls us to promote justice for all. In the Old Testament the references to social justice and how God brings justice to the oppressed are summarised in caring and standing for the “widows, orphans and foreigners” (Isaiah 1:17). In the New Testament, Jesus continues this call in Matthew 25:31-40 where Jesus depicts “the righteous” as those who care and share with the strangers and prisoners who are without clothes, food and shelter. Clearly, the Biblical concept of righteousness is not just about doing what is morally right, but it calls us to be hospitable, compassionate, and generous.

The February 2021 military coup brought about escalating aggression in Myanmar. Villages are frequently attacked by air and on the ground. The UN estimates there are 1.95 million people currently displaced within Myanmar and thousands have  fled the country.

We can accompany PCM in many small but significant actions. Each one of us can pray for the people of Myanmar, be an advocate — tell a friend about the situation in Myanmar and give generously.
 
The oppressed in Myanmar are our siblings. What is your response?

Prayer

God of love, 
we pause and remember our siblings in Myanmar. 
Grant them your sustaining grace and peace 
that they may stand firm in their faith 
no matter what may come their way. 
We pray that this oppressed nation 
will come to understand that 
nothing shall separate them from the love of Christ. 
We pray that the global community 
continues to care and share with the oppressed in Myanmar 
for such a time as this. ​​​​​Amen.