Tuesday, January 6

Epiphany of the Lord

Minute for Mission

After nearly twenty years in exile from Burma, my heart was greatly disturbed by the depth of corruption the Burmese government revealed in its handling of the cyclone disaster of May 2008, in which more than 100,000 died and 2 million more were affected. Burmese Nobel laureate Aung San SuuKyi once said, “It’s not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” King Herod had fear at the birth of Christ, and his fear led to the massacre of infants.

While we have no control of the fear of those who wield power, we are responsible for our own fear of the scourge of power. Like the Jews of Herod’s time and most Burmese today, my hope had been corrupted by a “war wish,” a wish that some foreign power would come to the rescue with military force.

However, God didn’t appear on Earth the way the Jews expected, but in the humility of Jesus Christ. This epiphany calls us to walk humbly with God to stay uncorrupted.

Recently, I overcame this war wish entrapment and sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit for a different solution to transform Burma. The result is Open Roof International, based on Mark 2:1–12, in which four friends opened the roof of Jesus’ home to drop in a sick fellow for healing. The project — Healing Burma (Myanmar) One Life at a Time — seeks to stimulate the global community to search for creative approaches to transform Burma without violence. For more information about the Open Roof International project, visit www.openroof.org.

—Rev. Dr. Samuel Maung Stone, pastor,

Let us join in prayer for

PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Rina Arauz, GAC
Maria Arroyo, GAC
Luke Asikoye, GAC

Prayer
Amazing Lord, keep us humble when we have power and when we fight for justice. Make us aware of the violence of quick fixes, and help us learn from your humility revealed in your way to bring us salvation. Bless us with the ability to think out of the box and learn from your creativity in seeking justice. In Christ's name. Amen.

Daily Lectionary
Daily Lectionary
Ps. 72, 146 Ps. 100, 67
Isa. 52:7–10
Rev. 21:22–27; Matt. 12:14–21