God of Spring

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God of spring, come. It is in spring that there is new life, and some of Your children need new life today. They have gotten caught in the winter of their lives and something has convinced them that winter will last forever. The life-giving sun in their lives is hidden behind clouds of pessimism. Remind them, God, that there is light above the clouds; not even the thickest clouds can keep the sun from rising. Remind them that there is sun and thus new life in their lives but that they have to keep lifting their eyes higher and higher in order to keep them from looking down or inward, where there is so little light. Infect Your children with a contagion of hope, especially those who have stopped believing in spring. When they look down, guide the light of Your sun to pull them toward You, as plants lean toward light. Wipe the crust from their eyes which keep them from seeing the whole picture in their situations. God of spring, come.
Amen.

Spirit of the Living God

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Spirit of the living God, come. Come today because on this Holy Saturday, a day on which we remember that after being crucified you laid in a tomb, it is a face that many of Your children are in tombs as well. Mothers and families of loved ones slain by police…are in a tomb. People who lost loved ones who were alive last Holy Saturday but who died before this Holy Saturday came and whose grief is still raw are in a tomb. Families of children slain by mass shooters are in a tomb. Poor people who work but who cannot make ends meet are in a tomb. Addicted people who cannot or who have not yet find the way to end their addiction, are in a tomb. People so filled with anger and bitterness that they work to destroy other people are in a tomb. People who walk in and live with fear, are in a tomb. People who no longer dream or hope, are in a tomb. So many of Your children are in a tomb, the stone pushed tightly against the way out from that tomb, and they don’t see a way out or a way up. They are enslaved to their situations. They do not believe that they will or can experience resurrection. Spirit of the Living God, and breathe hope into Your children. Breathe Your Holy Spirit into them so that they believe not only in Your resurrection but in the possibility of their own resurrection as well. 
Amen.

God of Surprises

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God of surprises, come. Too many of Your children have forgotten that You turn our mourning into dancing. Too many are burdened by the resistance to justice and mercy and love. Too many of us quietly believe that we do not have the power to change our lives, our situations, or the way governments and institutions interfere with the forming of “a more perfect union.” Too many of us believe the bad news given to us by whoever gives it; too many of us have forgotten that throughout history You have shown up and done what nobody expected You would or could do. And so, God, in this week when we have learned that police officers will not be charged for the death of Alton Sterling, when we are hearing once again that an unarmed black man was shot because officers were “in fear of their lives,’ in this week where we remember the suffering You endured for our sakes, come. In this week where families of slain students, friends and spouses because of mass shootings, and we in this country have yet to understand that to be “pro-life” is not relegated to only being in favor of saving unborn children, come. In this week where too many people are still unemployed, where too many people will die from overdoses, come. In this week where too many people will suffer silently because they are sick and cannot afford health care, come. In this week where someone will not have anything to eat while others are throwing excess food away, come…and surprise someone as only You can. Come, God, because someone is calling out and reaching for a surprise.
Amen.

God of the Weary

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God of the weary, come. Your word asks us not to get weary in well-doing, but the truth of the matter is that fighting for what You want us to do takes energy that we sometimes do not have. There are few on the battlefield, God, because too many of us get weary and impatient. We struggle against powers and principalities and we get weary of pushing against their money, their control and their arrogance that says to us that the fight will be long. We get weary as we look at the extent to which people will go to hold onto their power, at the expense of those who suffer. We get weary of being challenged every single step of the way, and yet, nothing has ever been achieved for Your good and for Your will without an exhausting battle. Walk with us, God. Shift our gaze and our attention from our weariness to Your desire that all of Your children live lives of dignity. Help us to reach for Your hand so that we have the strength to do what You have called us to do. Help us to use our spiritual energy wisely so that we get weary less often, but remind us that the cloud of witnesses experienced weariness as well and never stopped pushing. Move in us, God, so that we can move with You. Stir up our capacity to believe in what seems to be impossible. Make us steadfast, immovable, always abounding in Your work. Remind us that in our weariness, if we shut down, we may miss the opportunities You have given us to do Your work. God of the weary, please come.

Amen.

God of Those Who Protest

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God of those who protest, come. Today, children and young people are marching all over the country to protest the refusal of our government to pass common sense gun laws. They have said, “enough!” and in their fatigue, they have decided to challenge politicians, the NRA, and big money in order to save the lives of other students who might be the targets of shooters in the future. They are standing up and challenging politicians to reject the money offered by the NRA in order to keep their jobs. They are rejecting the notion that “we the people” have no power; they are the embodiment of the truth, which is that the only way to beat organized money is with organized people. God, breathe on them. Send Your Holy Spirit into them, not just for today, but in order to give them enough breath in their spiritual lungs for the tough road ahead. Justice doesn’t come easy, and while they may know it, it doesn’t hit home until one gets onto the battlefield. God, come. Breathe on them. Let them feel the power of Your presence wherever they march today. Help them to hold onto each other, even as those who are inclined will hold onto You. Guide their feet. Guide their words. Guide their spirits. Give them ears to hear You. Help them to tune out words and/or actions which might discourage them. They are new to the too-often inhumanity of human beings, especially when the money and power of those humans are being challenged. God of those who protest, please come today …and stay with the children.
Amen.

God Who Gives Us the Capacity to Give

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God who gives us the capacity to give, come. So many of us stand with our hands out – to You and to others – wanting to receive, missing the fact that it is in giving that our lives are blessed. We can always give something, but too many of us live in mindsets of lack and not of sufficiency and really think we do not have enough to give anything to anyone else, or that we don’t have anything, period, to give. All of us have the capacity to get closer to You by sharing what You have given us. On this day, God, help us to concentrate not on what we can receive but rather on what we can give. Help us to receive the dusting of Your Holy Spirit as we give, bringing us closer to You. Help us to consciously receive You and Your spirit as we give something to someone else. Maybe, in these turbulent political and economic times, we, Your people, can cope better by giving to others, thereby getting closer to You for the strength we need to fight the madness of all that is going on. God who gives us the capacity to give, please come.
Amen.

When Spring Comes

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O, sing unto the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!

Those words resonated with me this morning as I listened to the birds singing. Their songs are different in different seasons and in spring, their singing is like a glorious concert written and performed just for us.

There are perhaps few things we really give concentrated thought to in order to keep our spirits alive and vibrant, in spite of the circuitous path that is called Life, but one of the truths that can feed a wilting spirit is that life is cyclical; it gives us, continually, different seasons, times when we enjoy the work of our labor, times where we prepare for the dry and cold times that come into our lives, time when must rest and wait, and times when we sing a new song because out of the dry and cold time we have gone through, there is new life.

The struggle for us as humans continues, but the season of rebirth continues as well. No period of time, no matter how dry or hard or bad or painful…lasts forever. It is part of the cycle of life.

It is exciting to see rebirth. Sometimes, winters are so bad that it is hard to believe that anything new and beautiful will ever be seen again. “Winter” comes in different forms in our lives: illnesses, loss due to natural disasters such as fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, loss of loved ones, loss of employment. Winter. It always comes, and in our lives, it too often is brutal. Life comes at us sometimes, like unrelenting blizzards, with snow so heavy and the winds of adversity so strong that the snow comes at us sideways. Winter. We can have a house on one day and then a tornado come through and blow it to the ground as if it were a matchbox. In a matter of minutes, we lose everything, and many of us do not have the resources to just pick up and move on. Winter. We are alright at 11:00 in the morning but by 2 p.m. we are feeling strange and by 3 p.m. we are on life support because we have suffered a massive heart attack. Not only are we sick but we are poor, and somewhere within our souls we worry about how we will pay for what will be astronomical medical bills. Winter. Our child is shot dead on the streets, maybe by another child, maybe by an angry young person or by a person with a mental illness. In a matter of hours or maybe minutes, our child is gone. Winter. You are driving to work and a newly-constructed bridge falls on your car or on the car of someone you know and now, if you have survived, your body has been crushed and you will never be the same.

Winter always comes. It is not unexpected, and it is almost never welcome. Some of us can find the warmth and the possibilities in the cold of winter, but far too many of us just concentrate on the cold of winter, and we want it to go away. Winter keeps us inside, trying to stay warm, even as winter causes so many people to suffer in and by the cold. Winter is a season which too many of us do not enjoy.

But winter is a season of preparation. In our winter struggles, we often look for God in new and different ways. In our “staying inside,” we are more still and more willing to open our ears and eyes, looking for newness of life. Winter prepares us if we take advantage of the time winter affords us to prepare for the next season. Winter is brutal, but it is not eternal; none of the seasons are. If we inch ever closer to God during our periods of winter, we can feel the coming of spring, a season where there is newness of life and possibilities.

When spring comes, our souls are ready for newness because the winter we have just gone through has allowed our souls and spirits to be fertilized. Every soul needs a winter because every soul needs to be aerated, fed and fertilized. When spring comes, what winter has allowed to happen begins to show. We have new strength. We breathe a sigh of relief as we realize that we “made it through.” Our fertilized spirits are ready for God, ready for new faith, ready for new ideas. Sometimes our winters last a long time but maybe that is a blessing, if we understand the value of winter because the longer the winter, the more our spirits are fertilized and the more newness we will exude. When spring comes, the beauty that is ours, which has been fertilized and strengthened in spite of the barrenness of winter, bursts through and we are different. When spring comes, birds sing differently, and so do we.

Winter always comes, but it is also always a precursor to new life. Winter is an unpleasant season for many, but it is good for all of us, it gives us the gift, of time to regenerate in spite of our being cold from its windy, icy storms. If we can hold on, as we stand naked, as do the trees whose leaves fall to the ground in preparation for winter as the storms violate our sense of normalcy, we set us up for the newness that is the definition of spring.

O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!

Indeed God does marvelous things in spite of and in the midst of, the winters of our lives, and perhaps the greatest gift is …spring.

God, Come

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God, come. Come to this country which is so much turmoil. Come to the people in office who are watching this country slide downhill Come to this president who is curt and cruel and rude to everyone but Vladimir Putin. Come to teachers who punish children for exercising their First Amendment rights. Come to those who think America cannot fall. God, come. Come to pastors who are under attack, come to congregations who are fighting their pastors for whatever reason. Come to people who cannot get out of debt; come to people who are facing bankruptcy or eviction. God, come. Come to the parents who have lost children to violence, whose depth of mourning goes beyond what anyone can imagine. Come to the families of those who died when the bridge in Miami collapsed. God, come. Come to the media and their all-day talk shows and help the people not just spout off opinions and argue with each other but to rather do something to take the cover off all corruption. God, come. Come to the poor and to the wealthy; bridge the gaps between Your people so that we can, together, fight the issues and policies which are tearing this country apart. Take our hands, Lord, and lead us on …Precious Lord, do that, please. God, please come.
Amen.

God of Those Who Yearn

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God of those who yearn, come. Some people spend their entire lives yearning for things they rever receive. Why is that, God? Some yearn for love; some get it but cannot recognize it or honor it, and others simply do not get the type of love for which they are yearning. Some people yearn for friends but have none. Some yearn for children, but cannot have them and have not adopted any. Some people yearn for wealth but have not realized it. God, there are things inside of us that keep us from getting the things for which we yearn, and so on this day. I am asking that You come to those who are ready for a divine reworking of their very spirits. So often, You give us that for which we yearn, but we miss it! We can’t see it! We do not recognize what we are asking for! That means that we have not been cleansed of whatever are the things that block us from You. Help us to know that it is never Your intention that we yearn in vain; our yearning should lead us to that for which we yearn, but for so many, it does not. Come, God, to those who are yearning and help them get to the place where they will look inside and see what it is inside of them that are blocking their blessings, and what it is about how they communicate with You that keeps them behind a wall and missing the doors that are opening all the time for them in response to their yearning. Help us to understand and remember that this relationship between You and us is not a one-way street, but is, in fact, a relationship which requires input from us as well as by You. Forgive us for not understanding what this walk is about. Help us to see You and know that it is Your intent that we have life, and have it abundantly.
Amen.

God of Presence

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God of presence, come. Today we pray for those of Your children who are beginning serious medical procedures, procedures which might be surgery or chemotherapy or medication for a serious chronic illness. We pray for them and for their families. We pray because medical problems are scary, and though we are thankful that medical science offers hope today where 20 years ago there was less hope, those procedures are still frightening – and expensive. It is a part of life that one can be OK one day and desperately ill the next. It is scary that a medication for one issue can cause another issue to evolve. It is scary when a person can play golf on one day and be facing triple bypass surgery the next. It is scary to be in a place where you feel yourself having a stroke and not be able to do anything about it …all of that is scary …but getting treatment is scary, too. For those who are going to have treatment or a procedure today, right now, God, be a fence around them. Comfort them and let them know that You are in the procedure room already, waiting for them. God of presence, come.
Amen.

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