In the book of Kings chapter 19, there is a story about the prophet Elijah. Elijah is running for his life. He lies down under a broom tree and he prays, “It is enough now, O Lord, I don’t want to live…” When God responds, “What are you doing here, Elijah?,” Elijah answers, “… the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left…”

Elijah feels like he is alone in his ministry. Elijah feels alone in his life. He feels so alone that he doesn’t want to go on living.

As a pastor, it is a real privilege to be invited into people’s lives. I hear beautiful stories, and I hear about great tragedy. When people who have been going through hell, come to talk with me, often I’ll ask: Who do you have supporting you? Who else can you talk to about this?

We all need other people.

God goes on to tell Elijah that actually, there are 7,000 others who have not bowed the knee to Baal. God is telling him, you are not alone. You are not alone… There are others who are in this with you.

Some of the most powerful words we can hear are… I’m with you. I am here for you. However, at the same time, some of the toughest words for us to say are “I need you,” or “I need help.”

We don’t like the idea of dependence. But God created us in such a way that we need each other. It is difficult to walk the journey alone.

I know it is not easy to risk giving of ourselves and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. I know relationships can be messy. We fall short, and sometimes we hurt each other. Relationships take forgiveness. They take patience and prayer. And they take love.
But what a blessing to know that we don’t have to go it alone. And what a blessing to discover that when it comes to forgiveness, patience, prayer, and love – it is in giving that most fully receive.

Let us pray: Loving God, grant us your grace and courage, that we might discover or strengthen the relationships that are already in our midst. Help us to give fully of ourselves so that we would be catalysis of your love. Amen.

The great writer and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr contended, that perhaps more evil comes into this world from premature judgments about others than from anything else.

That’s a strong statement. But if you think about it, there is a lot of truth in it.

So often, we think we know who a person is, or what their motives are, or how they will act, simply by how they look or where they come from…or from what they do for a living… or how they vote.

We also are quick to judge other people’s actions without having any idea, what their world is like. We so quickly size people up. We stereotype them. We become judgmental. And we make assumptions about them:

If you come from this country, then you must be like this, this and this…

If you are the kind of person who voted for Trump then you must also be like this, this, and this….If you are the kind of person who voted for Biden then you must also be like this, this, and this…

But the truth is much more complex than that.

Each and every one of us is a fathomless mystery. We carry within us not only a spark of the divine – we also carry within us unique backgrounds, history, experiences, and family dynamics – all of which shape what we believe, who we are, and how we see the world. None of us fit squarely within any label, or any box, or any stereotype.

And when we size up or judge others, or make assumptions, we so quickly miss the richness and depth of what they have to offer…

The philosopher John O’Donohue claims there is a hunger in everyone’s spirit to be seen, to be loved, to be accepted as you are, without being judged.

How true is that!

Let us pray: God of grace, at this time when the social fabric of our nation is torn and quickly fraying, at this time when so many are lonely, starved for connection, hungry to be known, empower us to be the kind of people, who are curious about others, quick to listen, slow to judge. We look to Jesus, who shows us the way. Amen.

In Mark chapter 6, we find that Jesus has come back to his hometown of Nazareth.
And I kind of wonder what that would be like. Here’s a guy who had grown up there. It was a small town, and people knew him as a child. They probably watched him as he apprenticed in his father’s shop, and most likely had benefited from his work as he applied the trade himself.

But when he comes home, instead of going back into the shop, Mark tells us that he goes into the synagogue and begins to teach. This was not the role the town’s people were accustomed to seeing him in, and they seemed to be taken aback. They say, “Is this not the carpenter?”

Mark then tells us “he could do no deed of power there…”

Is this not the carpenter?

I don’t know if you have ever had that kind of experience, where when you return home after a long period of time, people still seem to see you in the way you were years ago. Perhaps even they still seem to see you as a child, and maybe even treat you that way.

I know with my own daughters, when they come home from college I so easily revert to viewing them as they were in High School. But when I pay attention even for a few moments, I am amazed at how much they have changed and grown.

Sometimes we see people only as they are on the surface, or only as we once knew them, without taking the time to get to know them in a deeper way. When we do this, when we size up or judge others, or make assumptions, we so quickly miss the richness and depth of what they have to offer…

Think about it. What if the town’s people, had truly listened to Jesus? What if they had made the effort to get to know him in a new way, on a deeper level? What if they had given him a chance to reveal all it was that God wanted to reveal through him?

What blessings might they have encountered? What healing might have taken place? What transformation and growth might they have experienced?

What wisdom, what connections, what blessings are we missing when we judge too quickly, or when we think we know someone before we really do?

Let us pray: God of grace, at this time when the social fabric of our nation is torn and quickly fraying, at this time when so many are lonely, starved for connection, hungry to be known, empower us to be the kind of people, who are curious about others, quick to listen, slow to judge. We look to Jesus, who shows us the way. Amen.

There is an old story about a homeless man named Tom who has had a rough life. He suffered from addictions and was in and out of many shelters. Finally, one night Tom found himself at a Christian worship service and he came to faith in Christ. After that night, his whole life turned around. He signed up for a program at a shelter that helped him really get his act together. He worked hard and eventually became one of the helpers in the shelter – and even a mentor. Everyone grew to love Tom.

Well over the course of time, a new resident named Joe came into the program. As Joe got to know Tom and heard his story, he too decided that he wanted to become a Christian. At the evening worship service after the sermon, Joe told the pastor, “I want to be just like Tom.” The pastor corrected him, “Don’t you mean you want to be just like Jesus?” Joe responded, “Is he like Tom?”

I remember my friend Roger Kunkle saying, “You are the only Bible that some people will ever read!” It is so true, isn’t it? I hope that when people look at our lives, they will see generosity, kindness, compassion, and grace. I hope that Jesus’ love shines brightly through us.

Let us pray: Loving God, Help us to live our lives in such a way that we are a blessing to you and a blessing to others. We pray today for people who are struggling just to cope. Surround them with your mercy, grace, and love. Grant them, and each of us, the courage and strength we need to face the moment. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s message was written by Chaplain Bob Griffiths

Most of us think about prayer as a petition to God. But can you think of prayer as being about God and our relationship to God? If I use distant and remote language to speak of God, then I will imagine that God is distant and remote. If I use the language of humility and love to pray to God, then I will believe in a God who is humble and loving. The God to whom I pray is the God who directs my life; thus my image of God, the kind of God I believe in, is crucial to the way my journey of prayer proceeds.

So is God essentially engaged with me or disengaged? Is God primarily a judge or savior? Do I treat God as a ruler or lover? Is God faithful and interested in my world? For Franciscans, the journey of prayer is the discovery of God at the center of our lives. We pray not to acquire a relationship with God as though acquiring something that did not previously exist. Rather, we pray to disclose the image of God in which we are created, the God within us. That is the one in whom we are created and in whom lies the seed of our identity.

We pray so as to discover what we already have—“the incomparable treasure hidden in the field of the world and of the human heart” (Clare of Assisi). We pray not to “ascend” to God but to “give birth to God”—to allow the image in which we are created to become visible, to us and to others. We pray to bear Christ anew. In prayer, therefore, we discover what we already have—the potential for the fullness of life, and this life is the life of Christ.

The Good News of Jesus Christ, as the Franciscans understand it, is that we do not “go to God” as if God sat in the starry heavens awaiting our arrival; rather, God has come to us in the Incarnation. “The eternal God has humbly bent down,” Saint Bonaventure wrote, “and lifted the dust of our nature into unity with his own person.” We move toward God because God has first moved toward us: This is the Franciscan path of prayer. So try to love God as God indeed loves us – unconditionally. God is always there! And remember always St. Francis’ call to “preach the Gospel at all times; use words if necessary.”

Let us pray: Lord God, hear my prayer. And help me to listen with the ear of my heart for your response. I know you do not expect perfection from me, but help me to grow toward that goal in how I live my life. Thank you for understanding that I will slip back on this journey, and support me as I strive to catch up and continue.
Amen