Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)
As a person who loves all things holiday and celebration related, I’m very interested in the more obscure, daily national observances that hardly anyone knows about. I feel like we are constantly hearing that a given day is National Ice Cream Day, National Sibling Day, Shark Awareness Day…or any other number of things! As it turns out, August 27 is “National Just Because Day,” when we’re encouraged to do acts of kindness or small gestures for others “just because.”
This concept of “just because” seems almost biblical! The idea that serving our neighbors is not for any purpose other than serving, is central to Jesus’s life and ministry. Service is not for us, but for the other. This is also central to Lutheran theology. Martin Luther is often attributed with saying some form of the following: “God doesn’t need your good works, but your neighbor does.”
As Lutheran Christians, we know that God does not require us to do anything to earn love, grace, or salvation. But that doesn’t stop us from spreading God’s love and kindness, “just because.” So this August 27 (or all month long!), consider doing something for another person simply for the act of serving another child of God. Our world surely needs your goodness.
In peace,
Pastor Eileen (she/her)