Religious people often are strongly opposed to the positions and opinions of one another. They quarrel and argue and debate. Thus it was for Jesus with the people with whom he was in constant tension. But he maintained his ideas and his integrity until the end, and the end was his cruel death upon a cross. How devoted are we to following this man whose views were often so radically different from our own? When we gather for worship, we seek God’s guidance to become better disciples. Therefore let us, with Advent confidence, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We are grateful to Thee, O God, for once again bringing us to another Advent season, and for the opportunity to re-consecrate ourselves to Thee and to the one Thou hast sent into the world to become the light of the world, Jesus Christ, Thy Son. We thank Thee for the fortitude Jesus constantly displayed in the face of his theological enemies, and for the manner in which, though disputing their ideas, he still refused to hate or despise them as persons. Help us in our disagreements with one another nevertheless to affirm the humanity of one another, and thus to become brothers and sisters of one another, as hard a challenge as that may be.
We pray for the people who are most likely to have the most difficulties in accepting one another, those who are extremists of any religion, and who believe that their positions alone are acceptable to Thee. Forgive all of us for our prideful beliefs that our way is superior to the ways of others, or that our thinking is the clearest reflection of Thy thinking. Lord God, it is hard to be both committed and compassionate, to care deeply and to also to set aside our differences with others. Inspire us to become more like Jesus, who was always strongly dedicated but also invariably loving.
As we approach Christmas with anticipation and expectation, we pray for those for whom Christmas brings great sadness and inner pain. They shall miss people they loved who are no longer on this earth to celebrate Christmas. They shall miss people in the family circle from whom they have become estranged, and they wonder whether the broken circle shall ever be repaired. They shall miss the joy of past Christmases, because ill health or mental or spiritual sadness shall erase the joy, or because financial reverses shall obliterate their ability to re-discover the elation which Christmas normally brings. We are a people in great need, O God, and thus we turn to Thee for strength and comfort, who alone ultimately can respond to all our needs. Keep us tethered to Thee. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, who taught his disciples to pray, saying, Our Father