St. Paul writes to the church in Rome: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Sacrifice is not a concept we like to talk about much these days. Even though our country was built on it; even though our faith is centered on the cross which embodies it (literally) and demands it. 

In this day and age, it seems personal freedom is valued about above all else. It becomes so quickly all about me, my needs, my rights…  Just as an example –  when a close family member shared that he wanted to be a part of a clinical trial for a vaccine – my initial thought was: Wait – that’s way too risky for you… Let someone else do that! 

What we so often lose sight of, is that it is precisely in the sacrifice that true community is made possible. It is precisely in the sacrifice – whether it is the surrender of our own ego and pride (which is hard enough!) or the setting aside of our rights for the sake of others – or the giving of more that we can afford, that deeper peace and meaning are found. And, it is precisely in our sacrifice that Christ’s body is made tangible in the world.

I know I’ve shared this with you many times, but one of my favorite writings is from St. Teresa of Avila. She put it this way: 

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks (with)
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are Christ’s body.

Not just in a building, but out there in the world.

Let us pray: Gracious God, in Christ we see your sacrificial love for us. Help us give to others as we have received from you. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Several years ago now, I remember helping some friends clean up after Hurricane Irma swept through North East Florida. It was heartbreaking to go back into the same homes that had been flooded by Hurricane Matthew just the year before. We removed wet drywall and soggy insulation, carried out appliances that had been floating, and collected personal items destroyed by the water.  The same neighborhoods once again looked like war zones, and the exhaustion was easily read on my friend’s faces.

And yet at the same time it was moving to me to see neighbors coming together. Church groups offering to cut down limbs and help carry heavy items. Strangers handing out water and food. Others stopping by to lend a hand. It just reminded me that even in the midst of devastation and suffering we can find beauty, strength and goodness.  

We saw much of the same thing in the early stages of the pandemic – neighbors looking out for neighbors… Churches looking out for strangers… 

I know this has been happening all over the Southeast as folks try to recover from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

And it gives me great hope.

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 46. In that Psalm we read:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, that even in the midst of the storm, we can see your love at work. We pray today for all of those affected by the recent hurricanes. We lift up to you those who have lost friends and loved ones; and who are trying to put their lives back together. Be near to all who are suffering and hurting today.  We ask all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I was recently reading something about Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen related to using the technique of art therapy for people who have experienced great loss. Apparently, she spent some time helping a twenty-four-year-old young man who had to have one of his legs amputated to stop the spread of bone cancer. This young man was angry and bitter. For a long time, he couldn’t seem to look beyond his disability. 

Eventually, Dr. Remen was able to help him come to grips with his emotions and to let go of his disappointment. As he recovered, she also encouraged him to reach out and help others – to turn from an inward self-centered focus – to an outward focus. He began to visit others with physical disabilities and to share his own story with them. 

One day this young man visited a young woman who had just been operated on for breast cancer. She was suffering from deep depression. Her room was silent, except for some music playing by her bed. He couldn’t seem to get through to her in his usual manner, so he tried something different. He suddenly took off his artificial leg and began dancing around the room on his one good leg. The woman began laughing. She said, “Ok if you can dance, I can sing.”  And she did. 

About a year after the young man’s turnaround, he sat down with Dr. Remen to wrap up his therapy. At one point, they looked over the artwork and discussed how his views of life had changed. One picture expressed it beautifully. The young man, when asked to draw a picture of his body, had at first drawn a vase with an ugly, jagged crack running down the middle. This crack represented all the anger, and bitterness he felt after he lost his leg. He had seen himself as broken and therefore useless.

 But now as the young man looked at the picture, he knew it no longer represented how he felt. He took a yellow crayon and drew vibrant yellow streamers pouring from the crack in the vase. Then he explained, “You see here, where it is broken, this is where the light shines through.” 

Friend of Dial Hope, I don’t know all of the brokenness and hurt that you may be feeling today. But I do know this: that every one of you has been through difficult moments in life.  You have felt this brokenness. 

The promise of the gospel, however, is that we worship a God who brings light out of darkness; and hope out of despair. And so often what we find is that when we turn back to help others, it is precisely through our own past heartache and brokenness and even failures that God’s light shines the brightest. 

Let us pray: God of Grace, help us to trust you with our needs. And empower us to help others. As we have been blessed, so may we be a blessing. In Christ’s name. Amen.

I heard a story recently about Nelson Mandela. Apparently, there was a time when he met with former President Bill Clinton. Clinton asked him a rather pointed question: “When you were released from prison, Mr. Mandela, I woke my daughter at three o’clock in the morning. I wanted her to see this historic event. As you marched from the cellblock across the yard to the gate of the prison, the camera focused in on your face. I have never seen such anger, and even hatred in any man as was expressed on your face at that time. That’s not the Nelson Mandela I know today. What was that about?”

Mandela answered, “I regret that the cameras caught my anger. As I walked across the courtyard that day I thought to myself, ‘They’ve taken everything from you that matters. Your cause is dead. Your family is gone. Your friends have been killed. Now they’re releasing you, but there’s nothing left for you out there.’ And I hated them for what they had taken from me. Then, I sensed an inner voice saying to me, ‘Nelson! For twenty-seven years you were their prisoner, but you were always a free man! Don’t allow them to make you into a free man, only to turn you into their prisoner!’”

We can never be free as long as we carry around hate. We can never be free as long as we carry around bitterness. And we can never be free as long we hold on to old grudges, hurts, and wrongs.  God didn’t create us to carry that stuff around. God created us to be free. 

In a very real sense, forgiveness isn’t just about other people – it’s about us. 

Let us pray: Loving God, may your Spirit fall gently upon us and empower us to forgive and let go, so that our souls may be set free. Amen.