From Pastor Sharon
One of the litanies I hear from many of you is the frustration you feel when you see folk not wearing masks in crowded space. It seems like such a simple thing to do for the wellbeing of our community, so it boils within us when we wonder if people can ever actually care for one another as Jesus taught.
In the mail this week UCC pastors received a small compilation from the UCC Stillspeaking Writers’ Group; a book titled Emerge: Blessings & Rituals for Unsheltering. Reading through the contents, I found myself immediately drawn to the blessing below—so I share it with you today.
May you find a blessing for your day,
Pastor Sharon
Meditation for When People Who
Ignore Safety Recommendations
Are Making You Mad as Heck
by Mary Luti
Jesus, you said pray for your enemies.
There’s sneaky wisdom in that.
If you’re really praying for someone
it’s a lot harder to hate them,
and if you keep it up sincerely over time
you might even start to love them.
What happens after that is anybody’s guess.
My guess, good Jesus,
is that it all leads to meeting you in them
and to discovering that they are wounded, too.
What happens then, once I know that?
Once I learn we share one single shattered heart?
I’ve never been there, Jesus, I don’t know.
But as the heat rises in my brain,
the censure, consternation, and the rage, I wish I did.
Because right now I just want to haul off and pummel them,
smack some sense into them, smack them good.
Teach me to pray.
