II Corinthians 1:1-24
In verses 3 through 7 Paul speaks of affliction and comfort and how both the good times and the hard times are shared by Christians, wherever they are. These verses bring to mind two not-long-ago items. Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of our 9/11 tragedy. Many of us have been recalling events from that horror of twenty years ago. One that I recall is of a refugee from Kosovo, a father about my age who had come to the USA in July 1999 with his wife and children. After a few months here he decided to return to Kosovo with his wife and youngest son. Upon returning he realized that he had made a mistake and applied to come back to the USA. Unfortunately he had not filed the proper paperwork and his return was denied. It’s a long story, but he did finally return and now lives in Florence, KY. While he was back in Kosovo, however, sad that his return had been denied, 9/11 happened here. His immediate reaction to 9/11 was to go give blood. He so identified with his children, with us, with the whole of the USA that he wanted to do something to help. In our affliction he wanted to somehow comfort us. Sweet!
The second item has to do with Uganda. A number of people in our congregation have close ties to Uganda through our sponsorship of girls at the Canon Njangali school in Hoima, through our support for all that Eric Twine is doing, and through our personal relationships with both the past and the current bishops (Nathan and Sam) of the Bunyoro-Kitari Diocese. As COVID was raging through the USA in the summer of 2020 we were regularly receiving notes from them offering their prayers for our welfare. Likewise, when COVID became a threat for them from a major outbreak in the neighboring Congo our Mission Committee offered prayer and financial support to help the Ugandans withstand this threat. Again, affliction and comfort – from them and from us. We are all in this together; we need to help and support one another, those nearby and those far away. Thank you, Paul, for this reminder!
See also: May 20 / II Cor. 1:1-11; May 21 / II Cor. 1:12-24