“In Christ There is No East or West” (ELW 650)
Devotion
In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one community of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
In Christ shall true hearts ev'rywhere
their high communion find;
his service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.
Join hands, disciples of the faith,
whate'er your race may be.
All children of the living God
are surely kin to me.
In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north;
all Christly souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.
Today our church remembers Bartolome de Las Casas (1474-1566). A contemporary of Martin Luther, de Las Casas's first missionary journey from Spain to America took place in 1502. Initially he participated in Spain's efforts to colonize the indigenous peoples of America. But he was shocked by his fellow Spaniards' treatment of these natives: "The Indians are our brothers, and Christ has given his life for them. Why, then, do we persecute them with such inhuman savagery when they do not deserve such treatment?" (Quoted by Phillip Pfatteicher in Festivals and Commemorations: Handbook to the Calendar in Lutheran Book of Worship [Augsburg, 1980] p. 292).
De Las Casas, known as the Apostle to the Indians, reflected the sentiments of hymnwriter John Oxenham: "Join hands, disciples of the faith / whate'er your race may be / All children of the living God / are surely kin to me."
Prayer
Lord of all nations, send us to the downtrodden, and help us recognize our kinship with everyone in the world. Amen.