Carry out God’s call in your life
by REV. SUSAN YORK
Church of the Holy Spirit, Belmont
As we are in the very midst of Holy Week observance, and following Jesus on his last journey here on Earth, we remember his suffering and his death, even as we anticipate the joy of Easter in his resurrection. He did this all because he was obedient, and he did it so that we could be free.
In our own time, we have those who have worked passionately for a mission and ministry that claims their very lives. One such person was Ron Rivera. Sara Corbett wrote about him in a recent edition of the New York Times magazine. Ron was a Peace Corps volunteer who stayed and tried to make the world a better place by helping indigenous potters to build kilns and improve their skills so that they could make a living and improve the community. He also developed a clay bowl, coated with antimicrobial silver solution which made the vessel 100 percent effective in eliminating bacteria from contaminated water, making it safe to drink. He did this in Kenya, Cambodia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Darfur.
Rivera had just finished building the 30th Water Filtration Factory on his life goal to build 100 factories through Potters for Peace. He was bitten by a mosquito which carried a particularly virulent form of malaria, and died two weeks later with his wife at his side.
We are all called to carry out God’s call in our lives in places far and near. May we have the courage and the strength to follow where our Lord has led and remember that our lives are to be lived in faith and trust and service to the God who loves us so extravagantly that he sent his own son. Amen.
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