THURSDAY, September 2 (The Martyrs of New Guinea)

Acts 13:1-12. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Writer Lord Dunsany once said that the marks of the divine in a person are benevolence, extravagance, and song. They are the marks of the divine in the church, too.

The primacy of benevolence and charity seem obvious. And the Christian church has always been a singing church—at the Last Supper, they departed after singing a hymn. But what of extravagance?

One way that extravagance is expressed is in foreign mission. Service in the overseas mission field is always a bit fantastic, beyond strict common sense, what the charts recommend, and what we say about how sensibly we shall settle the proportion between what goes abroad and what stays at home. The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul,” when there was every logical reason for them to remain at home. Mission in faraway places and among people we do not know will always seem extravagant, and for that reason it is divine, the mark of a true church. (1942)

PRAY for the Diocese of Grahamstown (Southern Africa)

Ps 37:1-18 * 37:19-42; Job 16:16-22; 17:1, 13-16; John 9:1-17

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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Sep 02, 2010 at 7:43 am

Written by irma,

Sorry, I don't get it. Extravagance:foreign mission? Is that like extreme praise? Nope, dont like it.

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Sep 02, 2010 at 8:31 am

Written by Barbara Summers,

I agree with Irma--how is foreign mission extravagant, especially in light of the Great Commission???

Interesting that this was written in 1942, while America was fighting a war among people we didn't know, to save them--and ourselves-- from a murderous tyrant.

Efficacious Missions

Sep 02, 2010 at 9:10 am

Written by Tom Pritchard,

Considering the world's human population growth dynamics, how much of a difference, as a practical matter, have our missionary efforts really achieved when the dust settles? It strikes me that we are spinning our wheels and trying to feel better about ourselves. Our missionary history has frequently been a reflection of "our" home country's nationalistic imperialism and has frequently brought disease and misery to people who might have been better off if we had left them alone. There is probably a fine line between brainwashing and proselytizing. Saving a few dozen or hundred or thousand souls while ignoring the plight of Darfur in the Sudan and other genocidal strifes strikes me as rather hypocritical.

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Sep 02, 2010 at 11:02 am

Written by Henry,

I love to read the comments. Keep them coming!

Editor, Forward Day by Day

Sep 02, 2010 at 11:53 am

Written by Richard H. Schmidt,

Thank you for your comments today. I take the word extravagent to refer to how most people would regard overseas service of any kind, especially if it includes living among the poor. I was an overseas missionary a few years ago. I taught theology in Nigeria. The value of it is two-fold at least. First, it forged warm ties and understandings between two very different parts of the Anglican world, ties that continue to this day. Second, it gave me a deep appreciation of a Christian culture and spirituality other than my own. Did it help the folks in Nigeria? You'd have to ask them. I hope it did.

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