|
Beloved of God,
Every conversation I have these days, whatever the intended topic, always comes around to COVID 19 and how it is affecting our lives and the lives of those around us. Inevitably, people express the sense of unknowing that we have all come to live with. What will happen with school reopening? Will see a spike in COVID 19 cases or will the numbers decrease? Will things return to "normal" or will there ever be a return to life before the pandemic? What will happen to our church or to churches in general? We look to our local, state, and federal elected leaders as well as our church, synod, and church wide leaders for answers and direction. And we have widely varying experiences of satisfaction with those answers and direction.
The Old Testament reading for Sunday is from 1 Kings chapter 3. In it, God asks the new King, Solomon, son of David, "What shall I give you?" Solomon answers with wisdom beyond his years, "Give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil." God is very pleased with Solomon's request and rewards Solomon giving him wisdom and wealth. Solomon goes down in history as the wisest king of Israel ever.
It seems to me that one of the best things we can do right now is to pray for our leaders to be wise and discerning. With increasing civil unrest, skyrocketing COVID 19 infection numbers in some states, and an election looming large, what we need now is a heavy dose of God's wisdom.
So, dear people of God, get on your knees (literally or metaphorically) and pray for God's wisdom to fill and govern our leaders. Pray for the Holy Spirit to inspire them and move them with compassion. Ask our Lord Jesus to be Lord of their lives. And then pray also for our country, for those most vulnerable, for a vaccination, and for peace.
In Christ,
Pastor Sarah
|
