From the Central Western Europe and Central Eastern Europe regions: Questions worth pondering

Every day God creates new realities and opportunities. We only need to recognize them.

Where do we see in our everyday lives the new opportunities that God creates?

As representatives of western, central and eastern Europe, we are accustomed to planning, anticipating and organizing everything.

Are we really able today to accept God’s action as a promise or an opportunity?

Many people are looking for work, lack adequate housing or are ill.

Can we adequately translate our Savior’s words “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” and what does the word “bread” mean to us today? Apart from food intake, do we recognize the real needs and dire necessities of persons in our immediate vicinity?

Bread is not only food. We often need more in our daily lives.

How can the “bread of life” not only fill our stomachs, but also satisfy our hunger for meaning and fulfillment?

Nearly everything is available to us. Supermarket shelves are full. We have an overabundance of information.

What is the quality of our physical and spiritual nourishment today and how do we measure it?

We often only take a small part of our fellow human beings into consideration and are therefore often unjust toward them.

How can we see into the hearts of our fellow human beings and hear what they are really saying (“aufs Maul sehen,” as Luther put it), and reach the whole person?

We often only turn to people who are immediately around us—people we can confide in, friends.

How can we avoid frequenting only our individual church circle? How can we make room for others, including strangers?

“Today” also means speaking the language of today.

How can we avoid empty clichés and speech bubbles and bring people the good news of Jesus Christ in clear, comprehensible language?