Today commemorates Benedict the African who lived 1526-1589. Benedict’s parents were enslaved Africans brought to Sicily. He was born in enslavement, but was set free in his youth. He managed to maintain a cheerful attitude towards life despite the prejudice he experienced. He became a hermit near Palermo following the rule of Saint Francis and later a member of the Franciscan Order where he became a superior in Palermo. He had a reputation as a counselor and healer.

There is a small Roman Catholic church in Chicago called St. Benedict the African. It was a result of a series of mergers of eight parishes on the city’s south side. It was an attempt by the church to serve a changing community.

I mention this church because it reflects a pattern common to many Lutheran churches where congregations established long ago, often along ethnic lines, find a couple generations later that the community had changed substantially, and a handful of people were trying to maintain a church that once served hundreds of people.

I believe individual Christians as well as congregations need to constantly look at the communities around them and ask how they might bring the Good News of Jesus to them. It takes something of a spiritual attitude adjustment so that we approach people as Benedict did with a kind, cheerful manner rather than as grumpy, judgmental scolds as we are often portrayed on TV and the movies. May we let the Good News shine through us so that others can see Jesus really is Good News.

Read Matthew 5:16 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne