Text: Mark 13:33-37
The Gospel according to Mark is the oldest of all the canonical Gospels. Matthew and Luke use Mark as their source together with other sources. I am especially inspired by the way Mark emphasizes the importance of being humble in order to be exalted, and the way he portrays women in the Gospel.
This text is specifically about, being ready all the time for we do not know when Jesus will come back. Jesus encourages us to Watch; be on the lookout and continue using every opportunity to make the world a better place. The example of workers being put in charge and left with specific tasks and responsibilities is used in verse 34. Every minute comes as we do not know when the end will come.
This text is between two stories of ordinary women who do extraordinary things. We can learn a lot from them. The first one is in Mark 12: 41-44, a widow who gives all of her resources and the other one is in Mark 14: 3-9, a woman who anoints Jesus with expensive perfume, preparing his body for burial (v8).Jesus acknowledges their contribution.
The 2011 World AIDS Day theme is: Getting to Zero. It is going to take all of us to get to zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related deaths. We should all be advocating for the rights of all key populations. These are the women, PLWH, orphans, the aged by making sure that they have access to all the resources that will prolong their lives. We as church should reclaim our sexuality and give it the dignity id deserves.Let us be informed on the new developments within the HIV and AIDS discourse and further share this information with all our communities. Together with other stakeholder we can achieve the Getting to Zero Goal.
Isaiah 63: 19 remind us that we have done many things that are not in line with God’s will. We still have an opportunity to rectify this by promoting messages of hope and life in abundance for all. HIV and AIDS give us an opportunity to do that. We need to find ways of addressing and eradicating the factors that make people vulnerable to the virus, issues like poverty, gender inequality, stigma and many others