If you walk into our local hospital these days, you’ll be greeted by a large poster that says: Aggressive behavior will not be tolerated. This includes: Physical abuse. Verbal Harassment. Abusive or foul language. Threats. Damaging system property.” 

At a hospital! – a place for healing. More and more we see signs like this in restaurants and airports. This has not always been the case. In fact, in 25 years of visiting hospitals as a pastor, it is only in the last three years since Covid, that I’ve seen anything like this. 

There is a lot of anger and resentment in the world around us right now.  And very little of it is serving a greater cause. I see very little of it making any kind of difference. More often than not, it does more harm than good, especially to ourselves.

It is true, for some people, anger is what drives them through life. In fact, some people believe it gives them an edge. But that anger often comes from an inner woundedness or pain that has not been dealt with. And what you see, more often than not, is that many of those same people have left a slue of ruined relationships in their wake. 

In Ephesians, chapter 4, the Apostle Paul writes: “Be angry, but do not sin.” Then he adds, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us…”

As it is written in the book of James (1:19), may we be the kind oof people who are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. May we be the kind of people who do not add to the anger and hostility of the world around us, or to the anger and hostility of the world within us.

Let us pray:  God of Grace, we thank you for your love for us, and your love for the world around us.  We don’t have to look far to see tremendous need. We pray today for healing for ourselves and for others. When anger arises within us, help us to pause, and give us the wisdom to respond with grace.  May we ever reflect your love in all we do, and in all we say. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sometime back, I heard the Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast talk about the word “spirituality” which comes from “spiritus” which means “life,” “breath,” “aliveness.” He says that “spirituality is aliveness on all levels. It has to start with our bodily aliveness, that is being alert/aware of all that is around us.  But of course, when we say “spirituality,” we also mean aliveness to (relationships with others), aliveness to our confrontation with that great divine mystery with which we are confronted as human beings, and which we can look away from, or forget, or be dead to. We come alive to it. And all this coming alive — that is spirituality. And what science has discovered is that when people are grateful, they come alive.” 

I leave you with the same challenge I left you with early in the month. As you go throughout each day this week, I invite you to intentionally pause momentarily from time to time – find something to appreciate. Allow a full 15 – 30 seconds for it to fully sink in. Delight in. Let it soak in, and give thanks.   And as you do, may you feel alive to both the gift – and the Giver.

Let us pray: Open our eyes this week, O God, to the many gifts that surround us on every side. As we notice that our cups are full to overflowing, open our hearts to respond. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Henri Nouwen once told about a time when he visited a monastery on retreat. The monks at that monastery observed vows of silence and the retreat was to be meditative and prayerful. Nouwen was delayed and had to arrive late on a rainy night, well after bedtime. He was met at the door by one of the brothers who greeted him warmly. The brother took his wet coat and brought him to the kitchen for a cup of tea. 

They talked late into the night, and Nouwen began to relax and feel ready for the retreat. However, it dawned on him that this monk was supposed to observe silence, and so he asked, “Brother, why are you willing to sit and talk with me?” The monk replied, “Of all the duties of the Christian faith and the rules of my order, none is higher than hospitality.”

In its original form, “hospitality” combines two separate words, one meaning friend and the other meaning stranger. So from very early on, hospitality has carried with it the idea of making friends out of strangers.

At this time, when there is so much division in our country, I wonder how that would look for you and for me…

Let us pray: We thank you O God, for people who have shown hospitality to us, even when we were strangers to them. Give us eyes to see your image in each and every person we meet, and grant us the grace to welcome them as you would welcome them,  to serve them and you would serve them, and to care for them as you have cared for us. Amen.

A second grader once asked his teacher how much the earth weighed. The teacher googled the answer. “Six thousand million, million tons,” she answered. The little boy thought for a minute and then asked, “Is that with or without people?” 

The story is funny! And it is true. People matter! People especially matter to God. 

In John 3:16, we find, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…

In 1John 4:10, we read: For this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son…

Then, one of my favorites, in Romans, chapter 8:  In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No matter where you are on the journey of faith, I pray that you would know God’s love for you in the very deepest part of your being. And may you share that love with a world desperately in need.

Let us pray:  Today, Gracious God, we claim these promises from the scriptures. And we thank you for your unconditional love and grace. Help us accept and embody these gifts; through Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Psalm 139 is one of my favorites. If we pray it, it reminds us of the truth that each and every one of us is created by God. We are the work of God’s hands. 

I love the imagery. Verse 13 claims, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (I can just picture God weaving together the strands of DNA!) And then in verse: 14, “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!”

What does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made? 

Perhaps this could also be translated, as “Full of awe,” or “astonishingly.” I praise you, O God, for I am made with awe and wonder… I praise you for I am astonishingly and wonderfully made.

In a day in age when so many people struggle with self-image, I wonder how many of us have fully embraced this message.  

Years ago, I heard a pastor say, “I think we need a new way of seeing. We need to learn to see one another and ourselves with the eyes of God. We need to learn to listen and sense the soul beneath the skin, the beauty and strength within.”

Sometime back, our choir sang an anthem based on this Psalm. The lyrics are as follows:

In the beginning, God shaped and formed me. I am skillfully and wonderfully made. I am the image of my Creator. In every part of me, His likeness is displayed.

For his own own purpose, God shaped and formed me. I have a place within his plan. I am in the image of my Creator. My past and future are secure within his hand. 

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, for creating us in your own image, and for loving us beyond measure. I pray that you would meet us today at the deepest point of our need. Recenter us. Heal us. And empower us to share your love. In Jesus; name. Amen.