Clare & Rhoda

     Today I discovered or should say rediscovered Clare and Rhoda.  One from a convent and the other from the Bible.  Here are their stories.
Clare (ca 1193-1253):
     She was 60 years old when she died which was quite old for that era.  She was born into wealth but felt led to the Lord.  Her journey began when at 16, she ran away from home to join the ministry of Francis who started the order of the Franciscan friars.  Later her sister, Agnes and a few others came to join her.  Francis placed them at Saint Damian in a convent he started for them.  He made Clare abbess.  Though she would have preferred a traveling ministry to the poor and sick, she took on this role of abbess with all she had and did so for the rest of her life. 
     Despite coming from a world of privilege, Clare gave up everything to follow Jesus in a life of poverty and service.  As a result, through the ministry of her order, she became a blessing to those less fortunate.  Most of us, too, have been born into a world of wealth and privilege in one way or another.  The call of Christ is no less real today than in the days of Clare and Francis.

Rhoda whose story is from Acts 12:12-16:
     The next "lady" we meet is Rhoda.  She was a servant girl at the time.  She was a servant in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark, who would someday become the author of the Gospel of Mark.  Their home was described as having an outer gate, which depicts them as a wealthy family, who used their home as a gathering place for believers.  A home church you would say.  So Rhoda was constantly surrounded by believers and apparently was one herself.  She had a great opportunity to be a part of a wonderful miracle.  Let me paint the picture for you. 
     The believers in the home that night had just finished praying Peter's safety, when there was a knock at the door.  A wave of fear must have swept through the house.  The apostle James had recently been killed for his faith, and Peter was in prison facing possible execution.  So the other believers likely wondered if they would be next.  *A little sidebar: You can read about Peter's escape from prison in Acts 12: 6-19.*  Rhoda, a young servant girl, was sent to answer the door. 
     When Rhoda saw Peter at the door, she got so excited that she ran to tell the others, leaving him locked outside.  She had a hard time convincing everyone that God had answered their prayers.  For Luke to include this story in his account of the early church, it must have been a favorite among the early Christians.  Rhoda was not an important person by any one's reckoning.  But for the rest of her life, she had a special story to tell how God answered the church's prayer for Peter's safety.  God still answers prayer, and we can tell others about it.
    
Challenge for the Day:
What is your special "Rhoda"-style story?  Go, run and tell someone today about how God has answered your prayers.  And remember we serve an active and living Lord, not one who just idly sits by and watches.