Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.” For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good. Psalm 122:6-9

During our Thanksgiving dinner, my sister mentioned her latest campaign.  Over the years, her neighborhood has been a little rough.  Plus, she lives in a more remote area so daily contact with neighbors does not happen.  However, she started waving to everyone she saw whether walking or driving.  Soon others began to wave back and now things seem a little bit better.

Our nation is in bad shape with all the violent acts and shootings occurring weekly.  We need some help.  Waving at each other will not prevent shootings, but it can be a start.  The psalmist calls the people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  We can take this further, pray for the peace of YOUR Jerusalem, your city, your homestead, and pray for the peace of Washington, DC, the governmental center of our nation.

If we begin to pray for our neighbors, show kindness to our neighbors and learn to live with our differences, we might just see some of that peace.  We then take the next steps, finding ways to create peaceful areas, finding ways to help those in need, finding ways to promote peace instead of violence.  Couple this with praying for our leadership, perhaps we might just find some solutions to the ongoing issues in our nation.

We can always try,

Pastor Bill

Be thankful in all circumstances…1 Thessalonians 5:18a

Gratitude.  It is a concept in nearly every major world religion.  You can read about thankfulness in the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and more.  You hear of the concept in their sacred writings, philosophy and more. 

Whether you are giving thanks to God, or to the Universe, or to each other, gratitude is a healthy thing.  It reminds us that we do depend on each other that not one of us could survive with others, that all we have comes from somewhere else.

Take some time this week to think about some of the things you are thankful for.  Go a little deeper and think about those who you may rarely think about, for example;

Farmers producing our food

The hard workers who take away our trash

Underpaid retail workers who put up with so much abuse

And many more.

As you sit down to the Thanksgiving feast this year, truly be grateful for all you have,

Peace,

Pastor Bill

Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done,

in whom his world rejoices; who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way

with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.  Translator: Catherine Winkworth; Author: Martin Rinkart (1636)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Over the weekend there was another tragic shooting at a gay nightclub.  Five people were killed.  Five human beings were killed.  Five people made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-28) were killed.

It does not matter what your thoughts about human sexuality are, it does not matter your religious beliefs or political stance on these things.  Humans should not kill other humans because of who they are.

If you are a person from the Judeo-Christian faith, God has spoken about this Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.”

On Friday, a friend of my daughter texted her.  The school was in lockdown because someone who should not have been on campus entered the school.  This is after a bomb threat a few days before and a threat of violence that caused the cancellation of a football game a few weeks ago.

There have been 46 school shootings resulting in injury or death this year alone.

There have been far too many violent events in our nation this year.

Again, God has said something about this:

Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. Proverbs 3:29

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

I could go through the scriptures and quote more, I could go through the holy writings of other world religions as well.  Bottom line, this is nuts.  We need to pray for our nation and world, we need to pray and work towards the end of violence.  It cannot be a partisan political fight, rather a time for all who believe in peace to stand together. 

This is too important.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

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 so much seek 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.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

It is the eve of the election.  Elections have been quite volatile lately and this season is no different.  It seems the closer we get to the election, the more explosive the commercials with each side telling us how horrific the other candidate is instead of what the candidate will truly do for the people.

The social media rhetoric is in full swing as well, with more name calling, more half-truths and the generalizations that do not truly reflect any reality.

So what do we do?  We pray, not that our candidate wins over that bad one, rather that every candidate seeks wisdom to govern diligently and for all the people.  We pray that people vote with integrity, with honor and with the cause of all humanity, not just special interests.  We pray that we can recognize the Imago Dei, the image of God in each other.

We are created in the image of God, and God has breathed the Spirit of Life into us.  Therefore, no matter who we meet, no matter their party, their politics, their beliefs, we should treat them as children of God. Even if they support the other candidate.

There is no other way we can return to decent political discourse.  We will never all agree, and that is okay.  We can, however disagree with dignity.  There is no need for name calling and demonizing those who think differently. 

As you head to the polls, look at everyone you see, recognize the Imago Dei in them, and utter a prayer.

Peace

Pastor Bill

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 so much seek 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.

Prayer of Saint Francis

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

November is here and that means one thing.  The Christmas season (just kidding, the stores have been in Christmas mode long before Halloween).  Thanksgiving is coming.  I love Thanksgiving and honestly it has become my favorite holiday over the past few years.  I get up, start breakfast and then start the feast.  My wife and daughter get up, we eat then put on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

During the parade, I get the turkey in the oven and make the stuffing.  Throughout the morning, I am busy in the kitchen, but not so busy that I cannot watch the parade with my family.  Whether it is just the three of us, or we have other family members, I take great care and pleasure in the meal.  Cooking it is a way of giving thanks for all I have.

I probably do not say this enough but I am grateful for my family.

Paul tells us to rejoice always, pray always and be thankful always, no matter what is going on.  Believe me, I know how hard this is, especially after some difficult years.  Yet if we stop for a moment and really consider things, we do have a lot to be thankful for.

As you travel through this month, take time to give thanks, take time to pray, take time to rejoice.

Peace,

Pastor Bill

Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have given us, for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us. Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day.

Prayer of Saint Richard