MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017
BE SENSITIVE (I)
READ JOHN 2:1-5
MEMORISE: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

Shannon L. Alder, an inspirational author, wrote: “Sensitive people are the most genuine and honest people you will ever meet. There is nothing they won’t tell you about themselves, if they trust your kindness. However, the moment you betray them, reject them or devalue them, they become the worse type of persons… They live with guilt and constant pain over unresolved situations and misunderstandings. They are tortured souls that are not able to live with hatred or being hated… However, despite the tragedy of what they have to go through in life, they remain the most compassionate people worth knowing, and the ones that often become activists for the broken hearted, forgotten and the misunderstood. They are angels with broken wings, that only fly when loved.”
Those statements best describe the attitude Mary, the mother of Jesus, put up (vv. 3b, 5), when the wedding wine ran out. In Jesus’ day, the issue of the running out of wine at a wedding reception was not a mild social faux pas (unreal or fake show or a joke). In fact, it should be best described as a social disaster. It was considered extremely rude and offensive to the guests who had attended the wedding, bearing gifts for the new couple.
The newly wedded found themselves facing an embarrassing and potentially threatening situation, both socially and legally (John 2:3a). But Mary, who had once suffered broken-heartedness and misjudgements, saved the situation. This is your Gospel assignment today. Be sensitive to the plight of others, and wisely save situations. Remember, showing such merciful acts attracts God’s favour (Matt 5:7).

PRAYER POINTS:
1. Holy Spirit, use me as You will, as a source of succour to the aching, in Jesus’ name.
2. Lord, make me sensitive to the plight of the less privileged.
3. Lord, make our churches a place of succour to the aching.

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Revelation 12 - 13