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Day 15 - October 10

Intention:

May God's people awaken to the fact that we are our brothers' keepers.

Scripture:

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground."

-- Genesis 4:8-10

Reflection:

"Methinks he doth protest too much ..."

The Bible is filled with passages that speak to our obligation to care for our fellow human beings. From the many commands in the books of Moses enjoining love of family, neighbors and even strangers, to Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, the injunction to care for others is inescapable.

In this account, the guilt-stricken Cain tries to shrug off his obligation to his own kin by dismissing it as an unreasonable duty. A la Shakespeare, though, "methinks he doth protest too much." Cain's objection doesn't stem from his sense of proper boundaries of responsibility, but from his own self-centered sense of self-preservation.

Christ said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). This is the standard of divine love. It required God to sacrifice what was most precious to Him for the temporal and eternal well being of all humankind (see John 3:16). Though on a much-reduced scale, he expects us to do the same.

Trying to duck our obligation to others is futile. We can't get away with simply dismissing others, especially the most vulnerable among us: the pre-born, the disabled, the sick and the aged. As with Cain, God sees and hears their suffering and will call us to account for what we do -- or do not do -- for them.

Prayer:

Father, help us to embrace the fact that we are our "brother's keeper." When, due to selfish motives, we try to cast off this responsibility please call to us to account. We would be pleasing to you and to our "brother." Through the help and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Rob Schenck
President, Faith and Action

A comical email, but it could also happen to us.

A 40 Days for Life campaign can be very intense ...
but we often find there is at least one moment that
lets us laugh at ourselves. My moment came last week.

If you’ve been following these messages, you know
that both David Bereit — 40 Days for Life’s national
director — and I are on the road a lot. We live in
the same city, but with full travel schedules, we
don’t see each other very often during the campaigns.
Many times, we even forget where the other one is.

But this time around, we’ve taken that to whole new
levels. Last week, I got off an airplane in Richmond,
Virginia and sat waiting for my bag at the gate. I
then noticed somebody walking off the plane I was on,
and he looked really familiar. It was David Bereit!

We were on the same plane and didn’t know it! And to
make things even worse, it was a very small plane.

We had been in different parts of the country, flying
home on the same connecting flight from Cleveland ...
and still didn’t know it until after we landed.

We were even e-mailing each other in the Cleveland
airport — unaware that we were sitting at the same
gate just yards from each other waiting on our flight.

We laughed at ourselves ... and you should certainly
feel free to do the same!

We take our work very seriously — but we do give
thanks for lighthearted moments like this one.

Here are some great reports from local 40 Days for
Life campaigns ...

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

Dan, a local 40 Days for Life coordinator in
Milwaukee, is one of those people willing to put his
entire heart and soul into standing in peaceful
witness outside the abortion center. We get frequent
e-mail notes from Dan — usually short and sweet, but
packed with something to celebrate:

* “God showed us two saves today!”
* “Three saves today within 19 minutes of each other!”
* “News of two saves today — twins!”

He also sends pictures. It seems like there’s always
something special going on at the vigil. Dan’s photos
include a church group participating in a “silent
solidarity” event, a group from the Sons of Mercy
motorcycle club (yes, pro-life bike enthusiasts) —
and a picture that Dan captioned “puppies for life.”

To see the photos from Milwaukee, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3444

WALKER, MINNESOTA

The 40 Days for Life vigil is back at the county
courthouse in Walker — a town with no abortion center,
but with people who are eager to stand up for life.

Pastor Michael Bitz from Immanuel Lutheran Church led
a group in prayer recently — teaching, singing ...
and even helping to inflate 40 Days for Life balloons.

He reminded vigil participants of John 14:13-14, when
Christ said that whatever we ask of Him in His name,
He will do.

“As we prayed silently, our balloons were released
to fly into the sky above as a sweet spirit flowed
among us,” said one of the volunteers. “It was a
good day.”

To see a picture from the Walker vigil, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3444

LANSING, MICHIGAN

Many of the 40 Days for Life teams are telling of how
their campaigns are energized whenever local pastors
visit vigil sites. Wherever the pastors go — their
churches follow.

On a rainy morning, Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing’s
Catholic diocese led about 50 people in prayer at the
vigil outside the local abortion center.

Chris, the local coordinator in Lansing, said the
bishop asked the group to pray for the women considering
abortion, that they may understand that they have much
better options. He also thanked them for their constant
prayers and continuous vigil.

For photos from the vigil in Lansing, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3444