In their book, Radical Hospitality, Father Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt tell a true story about a time when Lonni’s first baby was dying of cancer. The baby was in tremendous pain, and it was gut-wrenching to even be in her presence. Lonnie needed help, however, as her husband was in the military and deployed at the time. Out of the blue a woman named Linda, a local pastor’s wife whom Lonnie did not really know, showed up to help. Linda stayed with them for 48 hours – even after the baby died. 

Lonnie said she’d never forget that one night: “Linda stood looking outside into the dark, and said in a shaky voice, ‘I don’t understand why God allows children to suffer like this. But I know this: You can trust a God who bleeds. When you can’t trust anything else, you can trust a God who bleeds.’”

Homan wrote, “Linda stood beside Lonnie during the darkest time of her life. She opened her heart knowing for sure it was going to get broken. Her ability to do so grew naturally out of her deep faith in God. In the midst of great suffering, somehow she knew that a God who gave himself and who held nothing back from his creation could be trusted.”

On this Good Friday, we remember that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. We can trust that in Jesus Christ God knows what it is to suffer – and he walks with us even through the darkest valleys.

Let us pray: Loving God, we don’t understand the brokenness of the world. But we do know that on the cross, you entered into the pain and heartache of the world. Today, I pray especially for those who are in the midst of suffering even now. Be near to them. Grant them courage and strength to face the day. Be near to us. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s message was written by Dial Hope founder, the Rev. Dr. Roger Kunkel.

What are the three most difficult tasks in life to perform? When asked this question, the late Winston Churchill answered as follows:

1. To climb a high wall which is leaning toward you.
2. To kiss a girl who is leaning away from you.
3. To speak before a group on a subject which they know more about than I.

The noted newspaper syndicated columnist, Sydney Harris, brings another perspective in his response to that question. He said that the three most difficult tasks in life are neither physical feats nor are they intellectual achievements. Rather, they are moral acts:

1. To return love for hate.
2. To include the excluded.
3. To say, “I was wrong.”

In the movie, “A River Runs Through It,” there is this poignant line, “In the end, all things merge into one…and a river runs through it.” Today, as you follow Jesus, remember that faith is something you need to keep doing. It is like riding a bicycle. The only safety there is lies in riding. Otherwise, you can’t even stay on. You have to enter the river of faith to experience it. It means trusting God. It means getting your feet wet. 

Let us pray: Loving God, bless us this day so we may be a blessing to others. And now, may the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rain fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again… May God hold you in the palm of his hand. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

There is a great story in 2 Kings, chapter 2 (vs. 1-14) about the old prophet Elijah. At this stage, Elijah had been going and going. He knew he was nearing the end of his life. And his disciple, Elisha is right by his side.

What’s interesting, is that three times Elijah pleads with his disciple to abandon him Three times Elisha refuses. Twice the prophets question Elisha, asking if he knows of Elijah’s departure. Twice Elisha answers yes, but ends the discussion and continues to follow his mentor.

All I can think is Elisha must have had a very deep sense of calling to this. He must have felt deep down that God had called him to follow his mentor to the end – to take up the mantle and carry it forward. Whether he heard God’s voice clear as a bell – or felt it more as a tug on the heart or a stirring in the soul, here’s a man who has a sense of what he can personally do. He can’t do everything. But he knows he wants to do what Elijah did. He wants to carry his words, his tradition, and his faith to the next generation.

And I can imagine him thinking to himself, I’m going to stick this out. I’m going to see this to the end. I don’t know for sure, but I’m going to trust that God will use me to do this… 

Now I suspect, that many of you may know something about this. That somehow you have felt a real calling to do whatever it is that you do. And at the same time, I also imagine, there may be times when you have wondered, what difference does this make? I imagine there have been times when maybe you’ve thought I’ve got so much else on my plate. Yet, you’ve stuck with it. You’ve stayed faithful.

My prayer today is for an extra measure of God’s grace and blessing for you. And whatever calling God may have placed on your heart, that you would find within it, his empowering Spirit and strength to continue. 

Let us pray: Today I thank you, O God, for your calling on each of our lives, for opportunities to touch the world around us with with your love and grace. I thank you for those who have heard your call, and for those who have stayed faithful. Please continue to heal us and renew us so that we would be channels of your peace. Amen.

In his book, Finding God in the Dark, David Walls writes about Lloyd John Ogilvie and the struggles he had in his first year as the US Senate Chaplain. Over the course of a year, his wife had undergone five major surgeries, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy. Several key staff teammates moved on to other assignments, which added pressure and uncertainty to Ogilvie’s work. Problems which ordinarily he could have handled with grace were now quite daunting. Discouragement lurked around every corner. Prayer was no longer a contemplative luxury, but the only way to survive.

Wall’s quotes Ogilvie:

“My own intercessions were multiplied by the prayers of others. Friendships were deepened as I was forced to allow people to assure me with words I had preached for years. No day went by without a conversation, letter, or phone call giving me love and hope. The greatest discovery is that I can have joy when I don’t feel like it.” 

Ogilvie’s story is a reminder to me that when we find ourselves in the storms of life, God is still present. It also reminds me that prayer and an ability to turn to others for help, go a long way toward making the pain bearable. 

Through prayer and through the care of others, may God’s peace, and joy, be with you – even in the midst of life’s most pressing times.

Let us pray: Loving God, today we thank you for friends; for all those people who are willing to pray for us, to care for us, and to share in our joy and our struggles. What a blessing it is to offer that kind of friendship, and to receive it. We pray today that you would grant us the courage to ask for help when we need it, the grace to accept that help, and the faith to entrust ourselves to their care and to yours. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus often taught using parables, and in his parables, he teaches us that God’s kingdom is like the slow growth of a mustard plant. It is like a seed that someone planted in the ground and it sprouts on its own. It begins small, inconspicuous, and almost unnoticeable – but also unstoppable!

Sometime back, at Wednesday night dinner, we had a guest visit from our local school district. He spoke with us about a mentoring program for children in our county who are homeless. Some of these children are literally living in cars, and others living with friends. But all of them are surviving well below the poverty line. 

We learned about how mostly in these mentoring sessions, we would be listening to the children, and talking about things like sports and fashion. Our guest told us that at first, it can feel pointless. We might even wonder what difference this makes. And yet, all the results show that children who have these mentors – children who simply have an adult in their life who cares enough to show up – these children perform better in school. And they are much less likely to have disciplinary problems than those students without mentors. 

All of this just reminds me that often we don’t realize what kind of impact we are having on people. Small seeds can make a huge impact. 

Mother Theresa offers us that brilliant glimpse of hope that lies in little things: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love. It’s not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it.” 

I wonder what kind of seeds you are planting in your own life. I wonder what kind of seeds God is calling you to plant. Whatever they are, I pray that you would sow generously. 

Let us pray: Loving God, today, help us to do one small act of kindness for others, and help us to do it with great love. Amen.