Daily Devotional for October 11

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October 11                                                    Matthew 9:9-17

My friend's problem: only five hundred copies of the church
newsletter to be circulated among patrons at fifteen lounges,
bookstores, and restaurants.

The politician's solution: divide the number of outlets into
the number of copies and distribute them equally.

The socialite's solution: the biggest share of the copies go to
the newest, most trendy discos and dining spots because those
people add class to the church.

The accountant's solution: the largest outlay should be invested
in establishments that will bring the biggest return of people
with monetary assets.

My friend heeded Christ's words in developing his own
distribution formula. The more skittish he was about enter-
ing a particular business, the more newsletters he left behind.
Bars with the darkest corners and cheapest neon got fifty
copies. He threw in five more copies at clubs known for at-
tracting underage hustlers.

Discos whispered to have fights in the parking lot and drug
deals in the restroom got a full sixty.

My friend loved the newsletter, seeing it as a major outreach
of God's love from the church into the community. Deliver-
ing it to the right people meant a lot to him. He also loved
the people of the community and knew that the newsletter
could be there for them when no one else was.

Christ's solution: put God's word in the hands of the people
who most need to read it, the sisters and brothers who are
in the greatest immediate need.

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, "Christ
says. "For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

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From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.1989