Although it is not always socially acceptable, not always popular, we are called to the ministry of reconciliation. We have been entrusted with a specific message — that Jesus Christ died to reconcile us to God and to each other. The two things were accomplished at the same time, in the same act of salvation … This is our story, and we have a mandate to tell it.
- Brenda Salter McNeil from her book A Credible Witness
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come: your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Genuine Christian love is forged against the anvil of our selfishness and possessiveness… It is important to remember that love is more than a feeling. It is active and transitive. The real test of my loving is not that I feel loving, but that the other person feels loved by me. Love is what I do to create this sense of feeling cared for.
- Morton T. Kelsey from his book Companions on the Inner Way
Rid yourselves of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
You created us, O Maker of heaven and earth; you created us equal before you. And just as all of us have sinned and fallen short of your glory, so did you send your Son to die for all of us, that we and all of creation might be redeemed and restored to right relationship with you and with each other. Thank you for your grace that reaches out to all of us, sinners and redeemed before you.
Grace begins and ends prayer. Grace is what we call what is left over after the scouring of the self, the dying into self. Grace is what was there before we ever looked at ourselves in prayer. Grace gives us our initial impulse to pray.
We pray for the millions of people who cross international borders in order to secure a better life for their families, for the loneliness of separation from loved ones, for the uncertainty which distance brings. May your Spirit give them perseverance and peace; hold these families together in your hand. Amen.
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before [God] whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and knows everything.
Lord of mercies, God of all consolation, comfort us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by you. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
While the United Nations designates today an International Day of Tolerance, we know that you, God of all people, call us to something higher, to something beyond mere tolerance. We pray that you would enable and empower us to be people of love and compassion, who actively seek the good of the other and work to see your kingdom come on earth, that people from all tribes and tongues might come together in you. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Conversion is what happens between birth and death. By … conversion as a process, I do not mean to disclaim the many accounts of people being suddenly and mysteriously touched by God and changed tremendously … However, even people who have had a dramatic encounter with the Divine, still must go through that daily purifying process of continued conversion. A deep and lasting conversion is a process, an unfolding, a slow turning and turning again.
- Macrina Wiederkehr from her book A Tree Full of Angels
May this weekend be one of rest and recentering, refreshment and rejuvenation, and most importantly, refocusing on you. Give me eyes to see where you are leading, ears to hear what you are saying, and a heart that follows wherever you may go. Amen.
The Christian faith for most people is not commuinicated by doctrinal pronouncements … but by what goes on in the church in its most local setting. It is here, in the church down the street, that people are caught up in the Gospel promise — or are turned away.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousad generations.
