Christian Reflection and Prayer

Verse

As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord; and

my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.Those who

worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty.

Jonah 2:7-8

Voice

The great enemy of freedom is the alignment of political

power with wealth. This alignment destroys the

commonwealth — that is, the natural wealth of localities

and the local economies of household, neighborhood, and

community — and so destroys democracy, of which the

commonwealth is the foundation and practical means.

Wendell Berry

Prayer

Lord God, thank you that we are unable to save ourselves

and that each time we try, we fail. Have mercy on us. Be

the strength in our weakness. Clear our heads of the

foolishness of believing we can be our own gods. Steer our

hearts to utter dependence on you. Amen.

Common Prayer

 

 

"I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the Kingdom

 

of God like a child will not enter it" (Mark 10:15).

 

The late great humorist, Erma Bombeck, told the story of what

 

happened to her in Church one Sunday. She said,

 

"I was focused on a small child who was turning around and

 

smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking,

 

tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother's handbag.

 

He was just... smiling.

 

"Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that

 

could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said: 'Stop that

 

grinning! You're in Church!' With that, she gave him a glare, and,

 

as the tears rolled down his cheek, the mother added, 'That's better,'

 

and returned to her prayers." Bombeck reflected, "We sing, 'Make

 

a joyful noise unto the Lord!' while our faces reflect the sadness of

 

one who has just buried a rich aunt who left everything to her

 

pregnant hamster."

 

She continued, "Suddenly I was angry. It occurred to me the entire

 

world is in tears, and if you're not, then you'd better get with it. I

 

wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and

 

tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God. The God

 

who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us.

 

I wanted to tell him He is an understanding God. One who

 

understands little children who turn around and smile in Church,

 

and even curious little children who rummage through their mothers'

 

handbags. I wanted to tell that little child that I too have taken a few

 

lumps for daring to smile in an otherwise solemn religious setting.

 

By tradition, I suppose, one wears faith with the solemnity of a

 

mourner, the mask of tragedy. What a fool, I thought, this woman

 

sitting next to the only sign of hope -- the only miracle left in our

 

civilization. If that child couldn't smile in Church then where was

 

there left to go?" -1

 

Indeed, where is there left to go?

 

(Sunday Sermons Online)

 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him

 

who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels

 

nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor

 

height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to

 

separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Romans 8:37-39

 

It was World War I and the British lieutenant was leading his

 

soldiers back to the front.

 

His men had seen considerable action in the trenches and all of

 

them had lost friends and close comrades. They had been given a

 

two-week furlough, but the time of rest and relaxation was over,

 

and their orders said they must return to the conflict.

 

The soldiers' shoulders sagged because they knew ahead of them

 

lay mud, blood and possible death.

 

Nobody talked. Nobody sang. It was a heavy time upon their hearts,

 

made heavier by a dark sky and a steady, cold drizzle. As they

 

marched, they passed the remnants of a church. The lieutenant's

 

eyes were drawn inward. Although the walls of the church had been

 

blasted by cannon and small-arms fire, the altar of the church was

 

still intact.

 

And above the altar, miraculously having escaped damage was a

 

statue of the risen Christ.

 

The lieutenant, a Christian, remembered His Redeemer who had

 

suffered, died and victoriously conquered death with His third-day

 

resurrection. He recalled how the knowledge and faith in the living

 

Lord had given him forgiveness and eternal life. He knew, no matter

 

what else happened to him, because of Jesus, he would also be

 

victorious.

 

Although the lieutenant was not prepared to preach a sermon to his

 

marching men, he did what he could. With faith in his heart, he

 

barked out the order: "Eyes right!"

 

Every head turned to the right. As the soldiers marched by, they also

 

saw the cross and the representation of the risen Redeemer. Many

 

of those boys also drew comfort from those church symbols which

 

had, almost miraculously, survived the conflict which had raged around

 

them.

 

The soldiers took courage and with straightened shoulders they

 

continued their march, but now with strength in their steps and a smile

 

on their faces.

 

This morning, as I write this devotion, I don't know what battles and

 

conflicts you are facing in your life. If, by God's grace, there are none,

 

then I rejoice with you. I pray that the Lord continues to smile upon you.

 

On the other hand, if you are struggling, then I -- like that lieutenant --

 

encourage you to lift up your downcast eyes and see your Savior. He

 

has successfully completed His divine mission of grace, which was

 

designed to forgive our sins and save our souls.

 

Because of that, we, like St. Paul and hundreds of millions of other

 

Christians, can rest secure in the knowledge that "in all these things

 

we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure

 

that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor

 

things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in

 

all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ

 

Jesus our Lord."

 

THE PRAYER:

 

Dear Lord, grant that I may cast all my cares and concerns upon the

 

Christ. Then, having done so, may I be given that peace which passes

 

all human understanding. This I pray in the Savior's Name. Amen.

 

Pastor Ken Klaus

 

Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®

 

Lutheran Hour Ministries