Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost: Faith's Reward for Persistence.

Today's Scripture Readings

Genesis 32:22-31

The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 

Psalm 121 (BCP., p.779)


2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

As for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, `Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, `Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Blog Reflection

The traditional use of today's Gospel makes me a bit uneasy.  It has often been used to promote Almighty God as the omnipotent vending machine.  If you just keep shaking it enough, out will come what you want.  There are several problems with that.  Among them is that what about those who persist in prayer enough to ask and ask and plead and still do not get what they want?  How do we suggest such for a guy who's partner has died of cancer, after hoping and praying that he would be cured?   How do we suggest that "just be faithful and God will give you your heart's desire" to those who had no assistance with food during the government shutdown, and still can't get the help they need?

The mystery of God in Jesus Christ was that God is with us.  Whether we laugh or cry.  During our moments of distress.  In the moment when we think we have reached the end and can go no further, in Jesus, God remains faithful to us, even if we have not been faithful to God.  Our relationship with God is not based on an endless litmus test to see if we succeed or fail.  It is not even dependent upon us knowing every theological formula and/or historical event.  A relationship with God is God's initiative.  Our task is to respond to God's invitation to live with trust in God's Providence, and know that no matter what we have, know, or do, God is as close to us as the smallest cell of our bodies.   There is nothing we can do that will make God love us, and want all that is good and holy for us, any less.

So, what does our Gospel say to us at the end of a long 16 day government shutdown?   What might be a good faith response as we are confronted with the realities of the prejudices that still exist in the Church and society? 

I would suggest that what we are hearing about in this parable of the woman and the judge, is that faith is a matter of trust and complete surrender, even when things don't appear to be going our way.  As long as we are willing to grow in our relationship to God through prayer and supplication, God "will supply by the help of God's grace what is not possible for us by nature" (Prologue, Rule of St. Benedict, vs 4).   We will have the courage to continue to call our Church and governmental leadership to respond to the need for justice, the end of oppression, the importance of equality and community.  We will not receive all of these things just because we have heard and/or read this Gospel and responded with every form of piety.  God gives to all of us the initiative of God's faith in us, so that we may trust in God and do our part as Disciples of Jesus Christ.  In such is the response of faith that we profess in our Baptismal Covenant. Such is the hope that many are waiting and looking for.

As we give thanks for the end to the shutdown, and the freedom to marry for LGBT people in New Jersey this week, we are seeing the fruit of what it means to keep on pursuing what is just even in the face of the worst injustices.   Not too long ago, the thought that we would now have fourteen States in America that recognize the freedom to marry for all citizens was too impossible to imagine.  It has been the persistence of those of us who believe in God's unconditional and all-inclusive love for all people, and the faith to keep on going in the most difficult of circumstances, that we are seeing these changes in the Church and society.   It is right to celebrate these victories.  However, we must not become complacent and empathetic to the many injustices that still have a strong hold on the Church and society.   That is why responding to God's initiative by faith is so imperative. 

Perhaps Henry Williams Baker said it best in the first verse of hymn number 645 in the Hymnal 1982.

The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his,
and he is mine forever.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed
your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your
mercy, that your Church throughout the world may
persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen. (Proper 24.  Book of Common Prayer. p.235).

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on
the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within
the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit
that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those
who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for
the honor of your Name. Amen. (Prayer for Mission.  Book of Common Prayer, p.101). 

Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost: Show Thanks for Mercy

Today's Scripture Readings

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c (NRSV)

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, `Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel."

Psalm 111 (BCP., p.754)


2 Timothy 2:8-15 (NRSV)

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David-- that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful--

for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Luke 17:11-19 (NRSV)

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

Blog Reflection
 
There are very few experiences that can make a person isolated from one's community like a debilitating illness can.  To find oneself sick with something that disgusts other people.   The way they look at the color of your skin when pale.  The private conversations at a restaurant dinner table across the room.  The feeling that every where you go, there is talk about you and your health condition.  The feeling of the loss of dignity.  Where is there relief?

The readings this weekend from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel tell us the story of people with leprosy.  Not only was such a person sick, they were cut off from their community.   It was thought that if they got the disease, they did something to bring it on themselves.   Not only were they considered not "fit" to participate in society, they were also to be excluded from worship, because they were viewed as unclean.

The Scriptures this weekend show us how God looks past our health condition, our social status, skin color etc, to see the person and her/his dignity.   Regardless of whatever our state in life is, we all are in need of God's mercy.  Unlike many of the laws and thoughts of how God applies God's law, the Holy One does not see things as we see them.  In Canticle 10 in The Book of Common Prayer, we pray the words from Isaiah 55:6-11 that include the words: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways says the Lord.   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."   God is not about punishment and destruction.   The heart of God is mercy, forgiveness and unconditional love for every human person.

Jesus showed God's love when He healed the men with leprosy. Yet, after each experienced the healing power of God through Jesus, only one returned to give thanks.  The one who returned to give thanks was the foreigner.  The one who was thought to be the outcast among the outcasts, is the one who returns to give thanks and praise to God for the healing he experienced threw Jesus.  Jesus affirms his faith and sends him away a whole person.

How do we show thanks to God for the mercy we are experiencing because of Jesus Christ?

Do we welcome all of God's people in hospitality to bring about reconciliation?

Whom are we keeping outside of our communities because of some preconceived notion?

As our Congress continues to hold the poor, disabled and others hostage to the demands of the wealthy and powerful, we need to stop and think about what it is we are doing to each other in this debate.  What affect all of this is having on those who live with oppression, sickness, injustice and prejudice, and what are we doing to alleviate their suffering, or make it worse.   The worst part of this crisis is not felt by those who have nothing to lose.  It is experienced by those who have already lost everything, and have the last of everything left to lose, including but not limited to their dignity.   How can we as Christians turn a blind eye to what is happening, and not call on our government and it's leaders to get their act together?

We have the opportunity to show thanks to God for God's mercy by working for peace, justice and equality for all people.  Through our prayers, actions and coming together as the community of faith, we can fulfill our Baptismal Vows, by doing our part to bring hope to where there is despair.

May we give thanks God, by being merciful as God is merciful to us.

Amen.


Prayers

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and
follow us, that we may continually be given to good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 23, Book of Common Prayer, p.234).

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p.826). 

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen. (Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, Book of Common Prayer, p.831).

 

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost: Faith to Make A Difference

Today's Scripture Readings

Lamentations 1:1-6 (NRSV)

How lonely sits the city

that once was full of people!

How like a widow she has become,

she that was great among the nations!

She that was a princess among the provinces

has become a vassal.

She weeps bitterly in the night,

with tears on her cheeks;

among all her lovers

she has no one to comfort her;

all her friends have dealt treacherously with her,

they have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile with suffering

and hard servitude;

she lives now among the nations,

and finds no resting place;

her pursuers have all overtaken her

in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,

for no one comes to the festivals;

all her gates are desolate,

her priests groan;

her young girls grieve,

and her lot is bitter.

Her foes have become the masters,

her enemies prosper,

because the LORD has made her suffer

for the multitude of her transgressions;

her children have gone away,

captives before the foe.

From daughter Zion has departed

all her majesty.

Her princes have become like stags

that find no pasture;

they fled without strength

before the pursuer.

Psalm 137 (BCP, p. 792)



2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NRSV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God-- whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did-- when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Luke 17:5-10 (NRSV)

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"

Blog Reflection

The readings this weekend seem so appropriate for this horrible week in the United States.   The government is closed.   People who rely on the government as their employment are furloughed.  WIC programs are closed.  The Center for Disease Control cannot function.  It is a terrible time.   The opportunities for Americans to help others by way of our government is greatly limited.   The words from Lamentations seem so appropriate.   They speak to the situation we are in.

The Gospel for this weekend is full of images that seem supernatural to us.  Jesus is talking in hyperbole.  What might He really be saying?

Jesus is challenging His disciples to use their faith not to compete, but to do things that make a difference.  Our faith is not for the purpose of making ourselves look like miracle workers.   It is to give evidence of what we believe, by living the Gospel we listen to.   In verse five of the 17th Chapter of Luke we read this weekend, the Disciples tell Jesus "increase our faith."   Jesus tells them to do things that show forth their faith, in such a way that everyone would sit up and take notice.  You have to admit that if anyone actually made a mulberry tree be uprooted and planted in the sea, every news media outlet would make a breaking news story out of it.   Jesus tells us to believe enough that what we believe becomes what we live.

We may be living in a time of Lamentation with our government shutdown.   There are plenty of people living through the injustice of oppression, violence, discrimination and faithlessness.  We Christians have the greatest opportunity to make our faith and our God visible as we speak out on behalf of the marginalized in society and the Church and encourage us to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ that changes what we believe into something we can see.    To do this, we must all look past each person's race, gender, gender identity/expression, religion, sexual orientation, health status, economic status, language, immigration status, and see Jesus present and calling us.   Our Baptismal Covenant asks us to live out the Gospel, by seeing in each person God's whole and living Self, calling out to us to welcome Jesus and to bring reconciliation and healing to His Body, the Church.   This is the faith we profess.   This is our faith profession living, breathing and performing miracles where none seem possible.

Amen.

Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to
hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire
or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy
to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 22, Book of Common Prayer, p.234).

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice, Book of Common Prayer, p.823).

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us,
in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront
one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work
together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for Times of Conflict, Book of Common Prayer, p.824).

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Whom Are We Ignoring?

Today's Scripture Readings

Amos 6:1a, 4-7 (NRSV)

Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,

and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,

and lounge on their couches,

and eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the stall;

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,

and like David improvise on instruments of music;

who drink wine from bowls,

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,

and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

Psalm 146 (BCP., p.803)


1 Timothy 6:6-19 (NRSV)

There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time-- he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Luke 16: 19-31 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Blog Reflection

In her book The Monastery of the Heart: An Invitation to A Meaningful Life, Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB writes:

We are all Seekers of the God who is here but invisible to the blind eye; who calls to us but is unheard by those who do not listen; who touches our lives wherever we are, but is unfelt by those whose hearts are closed to the presence of God-- who is everywhere, in everyone at all times (page 21).

The parable in today's Gospel Reading contains some fascinating images.  It is not unlike the image in the Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55.   The rich are brought down, while the poor are raised up.  Yet, in  Luke 16:19-31, Jesus is taking us a step further. It is another timely message for the events we are currently living through.  

The United States House of Representatives is prepared to shut down the government which includes services to the poor and disadvantaged, Education, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and more.  They are prepared to close the government to keep that many more people from purchasing health insurance this year.   What is wrong with this picture?  Our Gospel has some thoughts about that for us.

According to William Barclay in The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, the problem with the rich man is that he is so blinded by all that he has that he does not even notice poor Lazarus hungry and in need outside his gate.  In those days, people ate with their hands and not silverware.   They did not have napkins either.  They wiped their hands on pieces of bread that was later thrown out.   Lazarus longed to eat the bread crumbs that fell from the rich man's table.  The rich man was so absorbed by what he had, that he could not see past them to see his suffering brother at his gate.   He ignored Lazarus.  He chose to forget about Lazarus.  He had everything.  He had nothing to lose, or so he thought.

Before we get too lost in the judgement rendered, I think we need to look at it from the stand point of what affects one person, affects us all.   What goes around, comes around.   When the rich man having to face the reality of what his actions did to one man, he now has to face what they meant for him too.  Not only has his choice to ignore Lazarus brought him an eternal hell, it has also affected others whom he left behind.   Now he finds himself in the place of need, only to learn that the man whom he ignored now serves a greater master.  A master who did not forget his suffering, but shared in it with him and rewarded him for his faith in God, despite his poor state in life.   For the rich man, ignoring Lazarus meant he ignored God.

When we ignore others around us, we are ignoring Jesus.  The Jesus who is present and calling out to us from those places where He has been forgotten.  In the immigrant seeking to be welcomed into a country where she/he can find a peaceful place to raise a family.  Jesus is in the lesbian teen being bullied in school. Jesus is in the transgender homecoming queen who has gotten hate messages from all over.   Jesus is in the LGBT people being terrorized in Russia.  Jesus is in the millions of Americans who cannot get health insurance, who need food stamps, the women who need reproductive health care.   Jesus is present in the mother of an African American son who was gunned down, just because of his skin color.  When we ignore these, we ignore Jesus.

Who and where do we hear Jesus calling out to us to recognize him?

Are our ears open to Jesus as He calls to us?

Are we walking past Jesus as He cries out for help?

What would make us listen better?

I would suggest that if we are not taking time to spend in silence with Jesus in our hearts and lives, we will become deaf as He calls us elsewhere.   If we do not open our own hearts to Jesus who wants to share room in our hearts and lives, to nourish us in the Eucharist, we will not hear Jesus in those who are in need.   Our hearts become cold.  We become complacent.  We ignore the call of Christ in our sisters and brothers.

Jesus is calling us today.   Are we listening for Jesus?


Prayers

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing
mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we,
running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of
your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 21, Book of Common Prayer, p. 234).

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p.826).




Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p.826).