Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Jeremiah 38:11-13
“So Ebed-Melech took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. He said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern.” see Jeremiah 38:11-13
Being a prophet was hazardous duty. It got Jeremiah thrown into a cistern. He was low, wet, and sick. When no one else seemed to care, Ebedmelech the servant took action. There are two sins in the story. The first is putting another person in a pit (there are many ways of putting a person down). The second sin is letting that person stay there when you can make a difference.
James wrote, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” Ebedmelech was a servant with no real means to help, but he could do one thing; and he did: He told the king. We too can tell the King about the troubles and needs of others through prayer.
The king gave him ropes and men to help. The faithful servant also gathered some old rags to pad the ropes and ease the pain. It is possible to help someone from a heart of indifference. It is a much greater deed when help comes with compassion.
In his poem, “The Glorious Minority,” Bishop Ralph Cushman wrote, “There are people who carry life’s burdens, their own and some others beside …There are two kinds of people, you know them…the people who take your strength from you, and others who put it all back.”
The Gospel song says, “If I can help somebody, as I pass along. If I can cheer somebody, with a word or song. If I can show somebody, that he’s travelling wrong. Then my living shall not be in vain.”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
