In the book of Deuteronomy, after laying out a beautiful way of life, God instructs us, “You shall write these words of mine in your heart and soul and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as emblem on your forehead… Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…”

When I lived in Jamaica, I noticed that some people had used bright colors to paint verses of scripture – often one of the Psalms – over the gates to their fences and over the entryways to their homes.  

It is true that this passage can be taken literally. On special occasions, some faithful Jewish people do wear little boxes containing scripture strapped to their wrists or foreheads. They are called phylacteries.  But, this passage from Deuteronomy may also be interpreted metaphorically. 

We bind the Word of God on our foreheads when we read and study scripture. We bind it on our hearts when we meditate on it, and on our hands when we act upon it. And, we bind it on our doorposts when we make our homes places where God is worshipped and served. 

 Let us pray: Loving and gracious God, we want to put you at the heart and center of our lives. We admit that our days are often busy and full, and it is easy to lose sight of what’s important, what is central, and what is meaningful and fulfilling.  Help us find ways to remember you as we travel through our week. Fill us with your grace and empower us to take hold of the life that is truly life. Amen. 

Many years ago I remember hearing about the Royal Palace in Teheran, Iran. 

Apparently, an architect planned for the walls of the royal palace entry to be covered with sheets of beautiful mirrors from Paris. But when the shipment of glass arrived, they discovered that every mirror had been smashed in travel.  The entire shipment was destroyed, and the grand entry could not be completed. 

Just as the workers started gathering the broken pieces together to discard them, the architect stopped them.  “Wait a minute,” He said.  “I’ve got an idea!”  He then took a hammer and broke some of the larger pieces into tiny pieces.  He gathered them in his hands and walked over to the entry.  He put some glue on the wall and arranged the tiny pieces.  He did this over and over until he had an enormous montage of broken mirror pieces. At no point were the mirrors broken alike and at no point was the angle exact. 

I’ve heard that the result is breathtaking. The grand entrance is a dazzling brilliant display of prisms, reflecting light in every direction! One visitor stood in awe and described the result like this: “Broken to be more beautiful!”  

Of course, this incredible work of art was only possible in the hands of a master artist. 

As I think about those of you who connect with Dial Hope, I can only imagine the brokenness and hurt that some of you are feeling. The truth is, that every single one of us has been through difficult moments at one time or another. We have all felt brokenness in our own lives.  

The good news of the gospel is that we worship a God who picks up the broken pieces.  We worship a God who wastes nothing. In God’s hands, even our failures, our past mistakes, the tragedies we’ve experienced, our brokenness, and the brokenness of the world around us can be transformed and even redeemed.  

Let us pray: You are the Master Artist, O God. We ask you today to pick up the broken pieces of our lives and the broken pieces of our nation and the world around us. Grant us a willingness to work with you as you work within us. Give us open hearts and spirits as you shape us and reshape us more and more into your image. We remember today that you have promised to make all things new. For that, we give thanks. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

There is this great scene in the movie Awakenings. It is based on a true story about a young doctor named Oliver Sacks who was working with patients suffering from a condition called “sleeping sickness.” They were basically living in a catatonic state – not completely unconscious, but not fully awake either. In the movie, Robin Williams plays the doctor and Robert DeNiro plays the part of Leonard Lowe, the first patient to be “awakened,” through the use of an experimental drug.

In this scene, after thirty years of existing in a sleep-like state, Leonard suddenly regains his ability to walk and talk. He’s so excited by his new life that he calls the doctor in the middle of the night and says he has to talk to him. The doctor arrives quickly, and Leonard says to him: “We’ve got to tell everybody, we’ve got to remind them, we’ve got to remind them how good it is.”

“How good what is, Leonard?” the doctor asks. Leonard picks up a newspaper: “Read the newspaper. See what they say, all bad, it’s all bad. People have forgotten what life is about. They’ve forgotten what it is to be alive. They need to be reminded. They need to be reminded about what they have and what they can lose. And what I feel is the joy of life, the gift of life, the freedom of life, the wonderment of life!” 

The scene is compelling. And it raises the question, how many of us have lost that sense of wonder and awe and joy in life? 

The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote, “Earth is crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes…”

Jesus said, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy complete.”

Let us pray: You are holy and beautiful and awe-inspiring, and we praise you, O God.  You hold the heavens and the earth in the palm of your hands and you hold us.  We thank you for your grace, for your love, for your presence in our lives. Help us to embrace this life, this one life that you have given us with wonder and awe. Even in the midst of our struggles and challenges, may we know your love and deeper joy; through Christ, we pray. Amen. 

Some time ago, I heard about a group of women from a small suburban church who would meet every Tuesday evening to pray. Because their faithfulness in prayer was so well known in their area, they would get prayer requests from far and wide.

For several years they prayed specifically for a baby – one long hoped for by friends who wanted to adopt a little girl from China. During those years, the friends were waiting for papers to be processed, for government officials to sign documents, and for bureaucrats to act. However, when the couple received news that the baby was waiting for them, they had to leave immediately, leaving behind all of the unfinished preparations for the baby’s homecoming. 

“Don’t worry,” the women of the prayer group said to the parents. “While you are away picking up the baby, we’ll take care of everything back here. We will be an ‘Emergency Baby Committee,’ painting the nursery, putting the bed together, stacking the diapers, getting the clothes ready.”

I love this story about these faithful women because it reminds me that the way we pray can have an impact on the way we live. Prayers formed by words can become prayers made of action. It is so true that prayer changes things. It is also true that prayer changes us.

Let us pray: God of grace, let our concern for others reflect Christ’s self-giving love, not only in our prayers, but also in our practice. Meet us today in our daily life and move us to respond to your grace, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Over the past two days, we reflected on Ezekiel’s call story (2:1-5) and on how sometimes God sends prophets into our lives with the message we most need to hear. 

Today, I can’t help but think about a conversation we had with one of the candidates for the Associate Pastor position at our church. He ended up not being the right person at that time, but something he said really caught my heart. He was telling us about his youth group at a previous church. He learned that there was a Christian campus ministry at the nearby high school that was targeting the popular kids. The idea was that if they got the popular kids, their friends would follow. 

In contrast to this, he and the lead pastor of his church covenanted to pray every week, “Lord, send us the ones no one else wants…” Send us the ones no one else wants…

And he said God honored that prayer. They had every misfit, every kid with problems… every kid who was different. 

I thought:  That would be a challenge. But isn’t that exactly where Jesus’ heart is?

Then I remember years before that when I was teaching in Jamaica, I remember at some point that year, the government held a national prayer breakfast in downtown Kingston. All the prominent people – politicians and business leaders from around the island attended. 

On the news that night, they interviewed this woman who was not at the prayer breakfast, but standing outside with a small group in protest. (I thought: What could they be protesting? It’s a prayer breakfast!) And she said, “All these people here praying…praying for a miracle? I’ll tell you, it’s a miracle I’m still alive after 21 years in this slum of Trenchtown! They have means, they have money. They have power.  But look at us here. We’re hungry. We’re dying of violence. They claim to be people of faith, but do they hear our cries for mercy?” 

God says to Ezekiel, whether the people hear or refuse to hear, they will know, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Let us pray:  Open our hearts, O God, to your prophetic word to us this day. Comfort us where we need comfort. Challenge us where we need challenged. And heal us where we need healing; through Christ our Lord. Amen.