"What good is it, my friends, if a person claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him or her, 'Go, I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
Two Orphans: A Big Sister and a Little Brother
Carefully examine the photo above. What do you see? A young boy looking almost at the lens of the camera. His brown and white patterned shirt. His right hand softly on the chest of the person who is holding him. His high forehead and well proportioned face.
What do you see when you examine the young woman? Her lovely face. Her youth? Her green and gray-blue scarf stylishly wrapped around her neck. Her white blouse. The spot of dirt on her left
elbow. A gentle care between them.
"The big sister" is a person who often does an enormous amount of work. The task of the grandmother of the home who is raising eighteen orphans is overwhelming, and the grandmother could not do this work alone. Most likely, the grandmother has a "right hand woman," that person on whom she relies more than any other. Often, that person is "big sis," the most responsible person in the house other than grandmother.
This happens all over Africa. It has also happened for centuries and is part of our heritage. My mother was the oldest child of twelve children of an immigrant family. My grandmother was overwhelmed by the work and so my mother left school in the second grade to care for her younger siblings. My mother never did receive the certificate of graduation from her school; but she was one of the smartest, wisest and hardest working people I ever met.
In today's world of modern America, although totally different than Eastern Africa, there are hundreds of thousands of grandmothers, grandfathers, big sisters and big brothers who are caring for families that are enormously fractured. "Big sisters" assume the responsibility of being grandma. "Big sisters" become the loving anchor in a broken world.
LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus Christ. We are all family. Help our hearts to willingly care for all people you give to us, regardless of circumstances or situations. In Jesus Name. Amen.
This is the fifteenth in a series of thirty digital devotions written by LWR board member and ELCA pastor, Ed Markquart.
