Reflection
If you bestow your bread on the hungry and she afflicted…Then the Lord will guide you always and give you plenty…
-Isaiah: 58,9b-12
One might be overwhelmed with all that has been going on in the news lately. The temptation is to turn one’s head and pretend we don’t see or hear. Dr. Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz survivor and Nobel Pece Prize Recipient spent his life fighting against hatred and providing affirmation that every man and woman needs. When asked, Dr. Wiesel liked to call himself simply,” a witness”. (Adapted from Sabbath Moment, Terry Hershey, “I Choose to be a Witness, ”February 9, 2026.)
The Oxford Dictionary defines a witness as “a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place”.(Oxford Dictionary Google) From a biblical perspective witness is a person who sees an event and who shares what he or she has seen. An onlooker is,
“someone who watches something that is happening in a public place but is not involved in it”.
-Cambridge Dictionary
Are we a witness or an onlooker?
Have we decided to bear witness? In today’s Gospel, Luke describes the calling of Levi, also known as Matthew. Jesus called and Levi got up and followed and spent the reminder of his life witnessing to what God has done in his and others’ lives. Today is the fourth day of Lent. Do you and I have a spiritual growth plan for a Lent? We can show up this Lent and be a witness. How? Plan every day to do something such as listening to an elderly person’s story for the 100th time. Embrace those who are hurting or feeling alone. Daily give gifts of compassion, honor a person’s dignity, put your arm around the broken, take time for a sad and grieving person, (Adapted from Sabbath Moment, Terry Hershey, “I Choose to be a Witness, ”February 9, 2026.)
Our Father, strengthen us this Lent to be the daily bread and witness to others sharing your love, caring compassion, and mercy with others.
