He comes to us as One unknown,
without a name, as of old,
by the lakeside, He came to
those men who knew Him not.
He speaks to us the same words:
‘Follow thou me!’ and sets us
to the tasks which He has to
fulfill for our time. –Albert Schweitzer
You come to us, God, and yet we fail to recognize you, caught as we are in the trials and tribulations, in the sorrows and sins, of this daily life of ours.
- You come to us in the rival Christian groups who are working together to save the holy site in Jerusalem described as the Tomb of Jesus.
- You come to us in all refugees, in those migrants facing deportation to Turkey from Greece, in the more than 260,000 refugees of various nationalities in Yemen, in those fleeing violence in Honduras and El Salvador and seeking asylum in Mexico. We pray for those fleeing war, abuse, and poverty.
- You come to us in those suffering from yellow fever in Kenya and China, in those suffering from curable diseases because they cannot afford the necessary medications.
- You come to us in those who are drawn to or pressed into violence and terrorism throughout the world.
You come to us, O God, calling us to be agents of reconciliation, of health and healing, of justice and peace in our world, wherever we may be.
- You come to us in neighbor and stranger, in those who look like us and those who look very different from us, in those who speak our language and those whose language sounds so foreign to our ears.
- You come to us in the faces and lives of abused women and children, of victims of rape and child marriage and female genital mutilation, of those living year after year in refugee camps, of those who are perpetually hungry and thirsty and see no relief in sight.
- You come to us in the voices of those calling for justice- in Burma, in Somalia, in the United States, in Syria, in Palestine, in Afghanistan.
- You come to us in the cries of those demanding that their vote count, those demanding integrity on the part of their elected leaders- in England, in Iceland, in Russia, in China.
- You come to us in the hopelessness of those living in poverty, wherever they may be, even as they look at the wealth which seems so far out of their reach.
You come to us and we fail to recognize you, caught as we are in our own cycles of self-pity and apathy. Yet you do not give up on us, even as you do not let us off the hook from doing your work in the world. Your voice speaks to us: ‘Follow me!’…on paths of justice which may be difficult and even dangerous, on journeys of compassion which may pull from us every ounce of courage and commitment. And you remind us, ever remind us, that we do not walk alone, for you are with us, guiding and guarding, leading and loving. Free us from the fears that bind us, that we may bring new life to the world.
You come to us, O God. May we be open to hearing your voice and to following your lead on this often-difficult journey we call Life. May it truly be so. Amen
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