Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
A visitor at worship on July 25 told me why she was glad she came: the words on prayer were timely as she struggles with her mother’s illness. The worship liturgy, the hymns, the scriptures, and the community of faith renewed her hope.
So, because I desire to renew your hope, I am including here excerpts from the July 25 sermon.
Jesus teaching his disciples to pray reminds us of our need to feast on the bread of heaven – Jesus gives us the words and encourages us in our persistence.
The Gospel of Luke tells the stories of three different widows speaking or praying for mercy and grace, stories that connect well to Jesus’ words on prayer. Prayer, persistence and generosity exemplify the faithfulness of these women.
We know well the story of the widow whose persistent pleas for mercy softened a corrupt judge’s heart -- not because they were so beautifully chosen, but because she wore him out with her constant requests.
And we know Anna -- a woman of great age who stayed at the temple, praying and fasting, day and night. Her encounter with the infant savior prompted beautiful words of praise.
And then finally, we remember the widow in the temple whose two copper coins given from poverty drew Jesus’ praise.
A few weeks ago, a man who appeared to be poor, maybe even homeless, came to Immanuel’s door and asked to pray in the sanctuary. He stayed for 30 minutes, his head bowed.
On his way out the door, he poked his head in the office, and told Tim, “I left what I could for the church.” He left two quarters, two dimes, two nickels and nine pennies inside a pew envelope. It’s as beautiful as any gift the church has ever received, because it was given with a generous heart from a person in need.
In the movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” Andy Dufrense writes a letter to his friend, Red, to come and find him across the border in Mexico.
Earlier in the movie, Red has said, “Hope? Hope is a dangerous thing!”
But now he reads his friend’s words and his eyes are clear, his heart is full, and he is ready for the next chapter of his life.
Here’s what Andy wrote to him: “Hope is a beautiful thing. Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
The Lord’s prayer itself is our daily bread, for we cannot live by bread alone but by the words of God. Hope is our daily bread.
When we pray the Lord’s prayer together as a community, our voices join the heavenly host and all creation as the church around the world prays in a multitude of languages.
Through my time here at Immanuel, I have heard stories of members feeding the hungry. And I’ve heard stories of the hungry being fed. The stories I’ve heard include Wally’s story about feeding the German soldiers who held him and his buddy captive, because they knew where a storehouse of potatoes was hidden. And the grace that came in feeding captors – because they lived rather than died at the hands of those men.
When we begin and end our days in prayer, asking that God’s will be done on earth, asking for our daily bread, we are open to whatever God’s will for our lives is that day. A reminder to live fully in the present, not to worry about yesterday or tomorrow, but to embrace God’s richest blessings for us today!
This is our hope!
