A parishioner phoned to ask if I had any resources she could use to lead intercessions for Christian Aid week. Of course, I've any number, and as I collected them together for her, this prayer by the staggeringly gifted Janet Morley jumped out at me

God of the poor
We long to meet you yet always miss you;
we strive to help you yet only discover our need.
Interrupt our comfort with your nakedness
touch our possessiveness with your poverty
and surprise our guilt with the grace of your welcome
in Jesus Christ

On Tuesday we were encouraged to reflect on the MDGs and the church's response to them...Tomorrow, Christian Aid week begins and I read a letter in yesterday's Church Times which I found frankly appalling. It began well enough, acknowledging the discomfort that we all feel in knocking on doors & asking for money at a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet...but it concluded by suggesting that we should adopt the maxim
"Charity begins at home"
buying directly into the culture of self-interest that asserts that there is not enough to go round - not enough money, not enough food, not enough love.

But surely we are called by the God of abundance, the God who gives ceaselessly of Godself, the God who floods our lives with love and grace beyond our wildest imaginings.
We are small and scared - but where we are most fearful, God meets us and offers us all that we need, blessing us to be a blessing in our turn.
Charity begins at home, because that is where we learn how to love and how to share, - but it spreads out in endless ripples that encircle the whole world....