Today’s message was written by my friend Rev. Roger Kunkel, Founder of Dial Hope.

Friend of Dial Hope, Christ comes to us in a special way we are ready. After Jesus was crucified, Cleopas and Simon were hurting as they plodded down the Emmaus road. And then, suddenly, Christ was there with them to give them strength and meet their needs. He opened the scriptures to them. He broke bread with them, and as they experienced the resurrected Christ, they too got resurrected.

The truth is that Christ is never nearer to us than when we are hurting. I think I know two reasons why. First, I think it’s because we are more open to the presence of God we are down and out. And second, I believe that God is like a loving parent who wants to be especially close to his children and they are in pain. Parents know what I’m talking about. So, wherever you are on your spiritual journey, know this: hope is still alive. Christ is risen! Christ is alive!

Let us pray: God of the cross and the empty tomb, we come to you in humility. You are the God of hope who has declared your love for the poor, broken, diseased, and hungry of the world. You are the God who loves us even when we are unlovable. Help us to be channels of grace to all the peoples of the globe. Amplify the voices of those who are kind and gentle. And silence the voices of those who are contentious. Let love break out like an epidemic. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

In his book Through the Valley of the Kwai, Ernest Gordon tells a story about a time he served as a British soldier during World War II. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese in Burma, and it was in the P.O.W. camp that Gordon met a soldier nicknamed “Dodger.” Dodger suffered chronic pain from stomach ulcers. More than that, he suffered from deep despair. In fact, his fellow prisoners feared the despair would kill him before the ulcers would. But at some point, Dodger converted to Christianity, and one of the first things he did was to look around for a way he could be of service.

The most repulsive job in camp was collecting the rags the prisoners used as bandages to cover the sores on their arms and legs. Once collected, the rags had to be scraped clean of infection and then boiled, before being returned so others could use them. “A smelly, unpleasant job it was,” Gordon writes, “but Dodger volunteered for it. Regularly I would see him going from hut to hut, carrying his can of rags, and whistling as he walked.”

Gordon’s story reminds me that there is something about service to others that is redemptive and healing. There is something about getting outside of ourselves by giving that adds meaning and depth to life. I think this is part of what Jesus meant when he said, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it…”

Let us pray: Even in the midst of heartache and suffering, O God; even during trial and tribulation; even under the weight of anxiety and stress, show us ways to serve others. And, as we give selflessly, open our eyes to your expanding kingdom. Fill us again with deeper meaning and grace; for we pray today in the name of the One who gave even his life for us. Amen.

The story is told that once in battle during WWII, General Creighton Abrams found himself and his troops surrounded on all sides. He turned to his officers and said, “For the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a position to attack the enemy in any direction.”

You’ve got to love the optimism!

You may have heard the analogy of the hummingbird and the vulture. Both fly over deserts. All vultures see are dead animals, because that is what they look for. But hummingbirds ignore all that. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds exactly what it is looking for. Just as we all do.

This raises the question: what are we looking for in life? Are we looking for potential slights, wrongs that have been done to us, reasons to hate others? Or, are we looking for God’s hand at work? Are we looking for the Spirit moving behind the scenes? Are we looking for the image of God in each and every person we meet?

The Apostle Paul once wrote: “Finally beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Let us pray: Maker of days, Creator of all life, in you we live and move and have our being. We praise you for the gift of this day, and indeed for the gift of life itself. Grant us eyes to see the beauty and good all around us. May we notice your hand at work even in the darkness. Remove from us any bitterness, hatred, or despair we may harbor, and set us free to love the world around us. We ask in the name of the One who is the Light of the world. Amen.

Today I am deeply grateful for the Dial Hope Board of Directors and for all who give so generously of their time behind the scenes to make Dial Hope a reality.

After surviving the Holocaust, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, Victor Frankl wrote the brilliant book, Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning. In this book, he relates the experience of having everything he owned stripped away from him – including a manuscript which he had written and hidden in the lining of his coat.

Later, even the clothes off his back were taken from him. In place of his own clothes, he was given the worn-out rags of a fellow prisoner who had died in the gas chamber. In the pocket of his new coat, he found hidden not the manuscript he had lost, but a single torn-out page from a Hebrew prayer book. On this page was the most holy Jewish prayer, the Shema Yisrael – what Jesus later called the greatest commandment, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

This single page gave him hope, and he took it as a sign of God’s faithfulness. Frankl explains the meaning of his experience like this: “How should I have interpreted such a ‘coincidence’ other than as a challenge to live my thoughts instead of merely putting them on paper?”

In desperate times we need reminders of God’s faithfulness. We need signs that lead us again to hold onto hope. Sometimes those reminders can come through words spoken by friends or strangers. Sometimes they come through familiar prayers or hymns. Sometimes they come through what we’d call ‘coincidence.’ But, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear they are ever all around us.

Let us pray: Loving God, I pray today for those facing mighty struggles and for those carrying heavy burdens. Grant them signs of your love and faithfulness and strength to live in a way that your love would be evident. May your mercy and grace fall afresh on each of us this day. I also pray today for men and women in the military, for their families, and for our veterans. I entrust them, especially to your care. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Today, I am deeply grateful for those of you who have supported the Dial Hope Foundation with a financial donation. So many people benefit from your giving!

I remember being with an older retired pastor in a congregation that he had started near the end of his life. I didn’t know him very long before he died – but I had agreed to help him with this ministry. I’ll never forget his last worship service, he turned to his congregation and as he gave the final benediction he said, “Never forget. God loves you this much…” He held both hands stretched out wide as though he were on the cross. It was a beautiful moving gesture, a reminder of Christ’s love for us.

I’ve often thought, that pastor’s final benediction was a sermon that we could hear over and over and over again. If only we could allow that message to sink in deep… If only we knew that unconditional love in the very fiber of our being, a love for us not as we should be, but as we are right now… It would be a gift worthy of sharing with a world desperately in need.

Let us pray: God of grace, I pray today for those who feel they are far from you, and for those who may be feeling guilt or shame, and for others still who are carrying heavy burdens. I ask you to meet each of us in this moment. May we sense your presence. May we know your love, a love that does not need to be earned, only accepted. As we are able to receive it, grant us your grace that we might love others as you love us; through Christ, we pray. Amen.