Praying and Acting

John Sentamu was born in Uganda in 1949, the sixth of thirteen children. He is married to Margaret Sentamu. They have two grown up children and two grown up foster children. He was elected as the Archbishop of York in 2005.

You may have heard the phrase, ‘if you want to let God laugh, let him know your plans!’ Prayer, the conversation we have with God, actually helps us to take risks, and to turn words and love into action.

Having such a venturesome faith requires us to be bold. Knowing that you have to love your neighbour and God with all your heart is one thing, putting this into practice is another, but that is what counts. Faith cannot be reduced to merely a private matter. Faith is certainly personal but has to be worked out in God’s world. Have a look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and you will see that our duties to God are followed by our responsibilities towards other people. Loving our neighbours includes the people next door and in the next county and those on the other side of the world, and that must find expression in the public realm.

Prayerful attitudes towards others whom we find difficult are guided by the example of Jesus. He did not lash out at those who vilified, assaulted and finally crucified him. Every day brings with it new challenges, so the questions we must ask ourselves are:

• How much time do we give to God each day? and
• How far do we go out of our own way to show God’s love to others, and to put that love into action?