Excerpt from Ephesians 2:1-10

"For by grace you have been saved through faith…for good works."

Reflection by Quinn G. Caldwell

Here's how Paul says it works: Step One: live as faithfully as you can. Step Two: get saved from out of the blue.  Step three: respond in gratitude.  Step Four: the blessings come full circle.

Step One: It was the middle 1870's.  Professor H. Kurtz walked twelve miles from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to preach to a gathering of German immigrants.  He began the long walk back home in a snowstorm; before long, he began to feel tired.  He sat down to rest.

Step Two: Some time later, two Winnebago Indians found him asleep, nearly covered with snow, close to death.  They carried him to what they rightly assumed was his home at Mission House College (now Lakeland College and the UCC's United Theological Seminary).

Step Three: When he recovered, he was so grateful to the men who had saved him that he devoted himself to the Winnebagos' welfare.  He advocated and raised money for a missionary.  Eventually, a school and other institutions were built.

Step Four: The grandson of the chief that first welcomed the missionaries, Rev. Mitchell Whiterabbit, became a national leader in the United Church of Christ.

This Sunday is American Indian Ministry Sunday.  To learn more about the roles Native Americans have played in the UCC, click here.  To learn more about current Native American congregations and work through the Council for American Indian Ministry, click here.  To learn more about God, just wait; salvation and good works are on their way.

Prayer

God, send your salvation my way, and help me respond with good works and love.  Amen.

About the Author Quinn G. Caldwell is Associate Minister of Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts.