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

A great British preacher of a generation ago told the story of a young servant girl who had no formal education yet was deeply spiritual. She had a strong sense of compassion, a concern for people. When this minister visited her one day and asked how she spent her days, she said, “My work is very demanding, and I don’t get much time off, so I can’t serve the church as much as I would like. But I have come up with a plan that lets me do what I can,” “What is that?” asked the minister. She replied, “Well, I always take the daily paper to bed with me at night.” He was puzzled. “Tell me about that. I don’t understand.” “Well,” she said, “l read the page with the birth notices, and I pray for the babies that have been born; then I read the marriages, and I pray that they may be happy and true, and next I read the deaths, and I pray that God’s comfort may come to those sorrowing homes.” 

That young girl was not far from the Kingdom. Why? Because she had discovered the spirit of loving compassion. Loving compassion, Jesus called it the most significant sign of discipleship. In John’s Gospel, he said it like this: “l give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35). As deftly as a magnetic needle points to the north, so the heart of Jesus immediately zeroed in on the neediest person in the crowd. 

The poet put it this way: 

Love in your heart isn’t put there to stay; 
Love isn’t love till you give it away. 

Let us pray: God of love, you who have the whole world in your hands, we claim to be one nation, under you, and that you are the One in whom we trust. We are aware that you have called us to love you and one another, and we pray that you will remind us anew that love, to be love, must be expressed in action. Give us hearts of loving compassion. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A woman named Lorna Cade from Calgary tells a story about a time when a magnificent moose was on her property inside the city limits. After two hours of trying to coax it out, the Fish and Wildlife officer shot it with a tranquilizer. The moose took off down the street and eventually collapsed on a neighbor’s front yard. Reporters who had been following the events interviewed the neighbor at her house. They asked what she thought about the moose which was passed out on her lawn. “I’m surprised,” she answered, “but not as surprised as my husband will be. He’s out moose hunting!”

Life is actually full of surprises. Some surprises bless us richly – a kind word, a promotion at work, a serendipitous find. Some leave us feeling shocked or angry or in turmoil. The truth is we do not know what tomorrow holds – or even the next few moments. 

The famous pastor Henry Ward Beecher once wrote, “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” 

Beecher also wrote: “God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only choice is how.”

Today, I pray that no matter what surprises happen in life, you would take hold of today and tomorrow with the handle of faith.

Let us pray. Eternal and Majestic God, you who stretched out the heavens and who formed us from the dust of the earth, we place our trust in you. Receive today our joy and our gratitude. You have blessed us so richly. Take our worries, our anxiety and our struggles. Grant us guidance, wisdom, and above all a sense of your peace. Our times are in your hands, Loving God, and we give you thanks. Amen. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said to his disciples: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

It is fascinating to me to think Jesus spoke these words on the eve of his death, knowing he was headed to the cross… It is clear that there was a depth of joy within him that could not be shaken.  

I can just imagine the disciples, in light of all that Jesus revealed would unfold, they had to wonder: How could Jesus experience joy in the face of the cross? How could they?

And then I think about John’s community, facing rejection and persecution.  Did they find in Christ’s words a deeper understanding of the nature of joy, what it is, and where it comes from?

And finally what about us?

I was listening to an interview with Desmond Tutu some time back. And he was asked how could he be so joyful, and how he could hold on to hope at such desperate times as these. And he responded:

“Hope says… hey, things can, things will be better, because God has intended for it to be so. You know? At no point will evil and injustice and oppression… have the last word. And, yes, there’s no question about the reality of evil, of injustice, of suffering. But, you know, at the center of this existence is a heart beating with love; that you, and I, and all of us are incredible. I mean, we really are remarkable things – that we are, as a matter of fact, made for goodness.”  

He was then asked, I think people look at you and the life you’ve lived, and also… the bad things that you’ve endured, and the terrible things that happen in the rest of the world, and they might say, This guy says this is a moral universe? And there’s this line that you’ve just echoed – you’ve written this so many times – “God is in charge.” And they might say, How can he say that? I mean, tell me, you’ve been saying “God is in charge” for a long time: for decades. And so what do you mean when you say that?

And he laughed – that joyful laugh he had. And he said, “Well, I mean, you must add that I’ve sometimes said to God, It would be nice for you to make this slightly more obvious!”

As we face the complexities of our everyday lives, as we hear the news of protests on college campuses, as we experience enormous social and political division, as we carry worry and anxiety for our own families… how do we hear Jesus’ words: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”?

Let us pray: God of Hope, even in the face of the difficulties of life, fill us with unshakable joy and hope; through Jesus Christ. Amen. 

I’ve been reflecting lately on the ways in which the Bible is truly a living Word, and how God speaks to us through it differently at different moments in time. Just for example: In the Gospel of John (chapter 15), Jesus said to his disciples, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

These beautiful words were spoken on the night of his arrest. Jesus knew he was going to the cross. He was clearly talking about himself.  And we can imagine his disciples, in all their uncertainty and anxiety, hearing these words… You are my friends, I am laying down my life… for you…

As they first heard these words, how do you think they would have felt?

Then, we can think about John’s community years later, reflecting on these same words. Most scholars believe that John’s community was facing increasing conflict and persecution of their own. As they faced this persecution, the words seem to apply not only to Jesus but maybe even to themselves. As they first heard these words, they would ask: What is the depth of friendship we are called to in this community? Might we lay down our lives for each other? Might we lay down our lives for Jesus, as he laid down his life for us? 

Of course today our context is completely different. We are not facing existential threats.  But we might ask: What does it mean that Jesus would lay down his life for us?  What does it mean to worship a God who loves us at this depth… How do we respond to such love? 

How do you respond?

What is God’s Word saying to you today?

Let us pray: We thank you, Gracious God, for the love you have for each one of us. May we receive and feel that love in the very deepest part of our being. And then, O God, empower us to respond with all our hearts. Amen. 

There is an old legend about a man who was shipwrecked on a deserted island for two years. He did pretty well for himself, making a home and growing a garden. He even found a freshwater spring and often caught fish. 

One day, a ship appeared on the horizon, and a small rescue boat was launched and reached his shore. The sailor got out of the boat, handed the man a stack of newspapers, and said, “Compliments of the captain. He wants you to read these before you decide whether you really want to be rescued!”

It’s true there is a lot of brokenness and heartache in the world. But our faith teaches us not to try and avoid suffering, not to stay on the island or somehow escape from the world. No. Our faith teaches us to follow Jesus who was sent right into the heart of the conflict, the poverty and the suffering of the world.  

Yes, when we reach out to help others who are in great need, it often puts us at risk. Often our hearts are broken as we experience their pain. However, most of us discover God’s healing redeeming presence most profoundly – not in our escaping – but in our in our giving. 

Our prayer today was written by St. Francis of Assisi. Let us pray:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.