Category: Prayers

Locked in a room with open doors. That’s the theme of a sermon that I remember hearing years ago and I have never forgotten it. The concept was that we confine ourselves while God is inviting us out of our confinement to new life and new vistas.

This idea is referred to in Psalm 107.

Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God. . .
they cried to God in their trouble,
and God saved them from their distress;
God brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.

Here we are reminded that in following God’s way, there is freedom. We are not confined. We are free to love and serve and not be tyrannized by self-interest. In God’s way there is joy and satisfaction and fulfillment. But when we deny God’s way, God’s justice and mercy, God’s call to service, we find ourselves in bondage. We are bound by self-will, by the expectations of others, by the dictates of society. We are confined by greed and instant gratification and materialism. These are the things that bind us, that confine us, that narrow the scope and satisfaction of our lives.

Yet the way of God, the way of service and love and compassion for the least of our sisters and brothers opens the doors to community and joy and purpose. It is an invitation to a rich and full life. It is a wondrous adventure to live for God.

It seems counter intuitive that to live for God is freeing while to follow our own way is bondage, yet that is how it is.

Give some thought to what is keeping you bound. Are you always trying to keep up with others and never good enough? Are you struggling to buy things that the media tell us that we need? Are you trying to be thin enough, strong enough, whatever enough, like the airbrushed models on the covers of magazines? Are you trying to be as smart as someone else? Are you trying to work harder than someone else so that the boss will notice you? Are you trying to be everything to everybody and never keeping up? Put God at the center of your life, follow God’s way, and you will be free of all of those bonds. God’s love and grace are truly freeing!

Prayer
We cry out in our distress. So many things bind us and we feel stifled and behind and not good enough. We long to be brought out of our bondage, whatever it may be, from the gloom and darkness into the light of freedom. Love and service set us free. May we delight in the freedom God is giving to us. Amen.

Representatives from the Campaign for Fair Food of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers came to speak at Lakewood UCC several Sundays ago. As usual, their testimony is so compelling. We were told about the conditions in the fields by a worker who knows the situation first hand. We were told about the labor issues involved. We heard of the farmworkers’ request to be paid one penny more per pound of tomatoes. When the store raises the price one penny, we don’t even notice. So what’s the problem with raising this wage? And we were told of the efforts to encourage Publix, the grocery store chain, to become part of the Campaign for Fair Food. Why Publix? Because with a large market share, their participation could stimulate other grocery stores to come on board.

What impressed me again about the presentation was the conviction of those involved. They are committed to God’s justice first and foremost; over their jobs, their image, their immigration status, and even their lives. They are willing to do anything for God’s justice. They are fully committed in their discipleship.

Another thing that impressed me again is how they work from the presumption that eventually justice will prevail. They don’t talk about “if” this happens, they talk about “when” this happens. They assume that right will win out. Publix and other hold outs will eventually be drawn into the Campaign for Fair Food because it is right. They are convinced that it will happen, and they are constantly keeping the door open and beckoning Publix to come to the party!

Another thing that impressed me again about the Campaign for Fair Food Campaign is that the workers talk about the Publix people as colleagues that just haven’t joined the team yet. They do not talk about Publix as an adversary, but as an ally, not yet come into the fold.

The farmworkers have complete trust in the steadfast love of God and in the justice of God. In Psalm 107 we are told:

God turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
And there God lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
But God’s blessing they multiply greatly,
and God does not let their cattle decrease.

Those committed to the Campaign for Fair Food trust those promises, as do thousands of groups working for justice around the world. They know God’s intention for justice and God’s love and care for those who are victims of oppression, and they believe God’s dreams will ultimately come true. This is what inspires movements for justice and equality.

This may be a good time to reflect on how we are living our lives in ways that witness to our commitment to and trust in God’s justice, especially in terms of rights, opportunity, and access to those who are made poor by the current economic systems that are in place. How do our choices, behaviors, and actions show that we expect God to lift up those made poor? And that we know it is our job as Christians to help?

Prayer
The Bible tells us again and again of God’s concern for the poor. We know that God desires not just charity for those made poor, but justice for all people. May we invest ourselves in God’s transforming activity in the world, seeking to eradicate poverty from the face of the earth. May others see in us our commitment to a world in which all people flourish and thrive, and no one lives at the expense of another. Amen.

What goes up must come down. It is not only a scientific principle, but it is also true of life. I spoke with a colleague some months ago who asked how things were going at church. I had numerous positive things to say. When I was finished he told me, “Well you know that will change.” Oh yeah. What goes up must come down. Things may be going well but that can change at any moment. And things may be going really badly and that can change in a moment as well.

In Psalm 107 there are several images of drastic changes. We often think of these images in the Bible as signs of hope and promise. Some in Psalm 107 are, like these:

God turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water. . .

God raises up the needy out of distress,
and makes their families like flocks.

But there are also verses that indicate reversals in a negative direction:

God turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste. . .

God pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes. . .

In this psalm, we see good things going sour and bad things turned around. It can happen both ways. While my colleague’s comment, “Well, you know that will change,” appears cynical at first, with some reflection it seems realistic. A reality check. But with more thought, I see it as an invitation to ground my reality and my faith in God, not in outward circumstances whatever they may be. Those circumstances will change. Possibly because of my actions or in spite of them. Things may change due to factors I have no influence over. Will I let outside circumstances control me? Determine my attitude about life? Shape my faith?

In the psalm again and again the writer refers to the steadfast love of God. This is referred to repeatedly because this is what is important to remember. This is what should ground us. This is the one thing we need to know. God’s steadfast love endures forever. Other things will change. Fortunes will rise and fall. Elation and affliction will find us. And sometimes at the same time. Through it all, God’s steadfast love endures forever. When we ground ourselves in that love, then we are freed from being defined by outward circumstances. We are liberated from being controlled by good fortune or difficulties. Our well-being, our core, our lives can be healthy and joyful regardless of what we are going through. Trusting God’s steadfast love frees us from bondage to what is happening in our lives. We can have many experiences in life and still remain solid and grounded because God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Prayer
Life’s circumstances continually change. Our fortunes rise. Tragedy strikes. Life can be a roller coaster. But on the whole ride, including every up, every down, every curve, and every loop we can trust the steadfast love of God. Our joys and our sorrows may dim, but the steadfast love of God remains sure and steady. When we trust that love, we are free to live life fully, abundantly, and without fear as Jesus did. Amen.

When our son moved to Brooklyn after graduating from college, our family friend, Harry Knox, was living there and he offered to take Sterling under his wing. As part of that friendly gesture, Harry told me, “I will get him out of jail once, but only once.” I wasn’t sure whether to be offended that he thought my son might end up in jail or that he would only get him out once. In the end, I decided to just be grateful for his generous offer! (Thankfully Harry never had to rescue Sterling from the criminal justice system in Brooklyn!)

I have never had to get anyone out of jail. I have never paid bail for anyone. I imagine that the whole process is annoying, frustrating, costly (time and money!), and probably degrading.

In Psalm 107 we are told about God redeeming people. The psalm begins:

O give thanks to God, for God is good;
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of God say so,
those whom God redeemed from trouble. . .

For us, the idea of redemption has been overlaid with much theological significance. But at heart, redemption refers to a legal process involving prison. When a person was put in prison, often for debt, a family member was allowed to “redeem” the person; to get them out of jail. To vouch for them and pay a fee for their release. We may think of “redeem” in terms of using a coupon to get a discount, and maybe that translates theologically to God giving us a discount on salvation. But redeem is more closely related to our idea of bailing someone out of jail. And who can we count on for that but family or devoted friends.

When the psalm says that God redeems people in trouble, this implies a familial relationship. It implies intimacy. It implies kinship. It’s almost like saying let those whom God has bailed out of jail, thank God. Let those whom God has gotten out of trouble, thank God. There is the implication of God helping us as one family member helps another in time of need. And, of course, there is the implication that we will get in trouble.

With the familial implications of redemption, I am wondering how we are family to one another. Who would you call if you needed to be bailed out of jail? Who would make that effort for you? Family? Friends? Your pastor? And who would call on you to bail them out of jail? Who do you know that would count on you for that? Who feels that close, that vulnerable, that they would ask you to head to the jail, money in hand, and go through the arduous process of getting them out of jail? So, God is treating us like family, but how are we doing with one another?

As I said at the start, I decided to just be grateful to my friend Harry. If he is ever in jail, I hope he knows that he can count on me!

Prayer
In our troubles we need to know who we can count on. God is there for us, yes, but God needs people willing to help. May we be those that God can count on to do the redeeming in this world, to help people out of trouble. And may we know that there are those we can count on when the chips are down to help us. We are one human family. May we take our familial bonds seriously. Amen.

“Hungry. Thirsty. Lonely.” This is the text that I sent my husband one day after I had foot surgery and had been at home all day in pain and with extremely limited mobility. What surprised me about the time I was homebound recovering was how I missed being out and about and involved with other people. I couldn’t wait until my son got home from school or my husband got home from work to hear about what was going on and just talk. Being home meant that I got a lot of reading and other things done for church that I often put off which was good. But the feeling of isolation and loneliness that I experienced with the reduction in human contact was unexpected.

This week, we are reflecting on Psalm 107. The psalm celebrates God’s deliverance. In one section we are told,

Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

In this loneliness and desolation, the people cry out to God and are delivered from their distress:

God led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.

In these verses we see that deliverance is more than food and water. God could have led them to a well for water. God could have led them to edible plants or animals to hunt for food. But God leads them to an inhabited town. Yes, this implies supplies of food and drink, but it also means human contact, community, and social interaction.

Human beings are social creatures and we need one another. We need meaningful relationships and social interaction to be fulfilled and satisfied. This is one of the reasons that church is so important. Church is community, it is family. It is people who care, who are interesting, and who enrich us. And one of the great aspects of being part of the church is that we get to know people that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to become acquainted with. I know I have met people in church of different ages and interests and backgrounds and life experiences who have significantly enriched my life. They have helped me to get to know myself and understand the world, better. And they have deepened my appreciation of God.

As that alarm goes off on Sunday morning, some people may think to themselves, “I don’t need to go to church. I can pray and read the Bible here at home.” But that is ignoring and devaluing our need for community and for social interaction. In the fellowship of the church we receive blessings that cannot be quantified or received at home by ourselves. When people can’t come to church for physical reasons, they miss it sorely because of the social interaction and community and the way it is world expanding. When people who consider themselves Christian choose not to go to church, they may find themselves feeling hungry, thirsty, and lonely.

Prayer
We are grateful for the community, solidarity, and enrichment that we receive from being part of the church. Sometimes we don’t appreciate what the church is embodying for us. Through the church not only do we feel the presence of Christ, but we learn to be the presence of Christ. We need one another to learn these lessons of faith. Jesus surrounded himself with friends right from the beginning of his ministry. He created community among his followers. May we see church not as a chore but as a blessing of friendship and community in Christ. Amen.