Prayers of gratitude and intercession

Call to Worship: Turning a cheek

Strength is commanding the wind and sea to obey,
Strength is wielding a slingshot in the face of a raging giant.
Strength is accepting vulnerability from inside the boat,
Strength is standing in solidarity with the powerless.
Strength is turning a cheek,
Strength is loving an enemy.
We come to worship
a God who redefines our vision of strength.

—Katherine HawkerSelf, 1997, “Liturgy Outside: reflections to foster faithful resistance” (liturgyoutside.net)

Benediction

Send us into the world’s turbulence as instruments of Your peace,
and send us as agents of Your justice,
that all might know the truth of Your ways.

Send us as artists
who bear the joyful burden of Your creativity,
that we might bring light into the darkness,
and hope among the despairing.

And grant us the joy of fellowship,
with Your Spirit and with one another,
this day and forever. Amen!

—Rev. Mark S. Burrows. Included in the Spring, 1998 issue of Connections magazine.

Finding Healing and Hope in Crisis

Jesus walks on water (Matthew 14:22-33) and Jesus calms the storm (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41).

You can imagine Jesus walking on top of the turbulent water thrashing against the boat, or the storm-high waves covering the boat, and understand the fear the disciples must have felt – to the degree that they thought they were seeing a ghost, or were sure they would be drowned in a shipwreck. We too can go through circumstances that flood us with fear, in which we feel nauseous without being ill, or where we are sure we will fail and don’t even try.

The storms in our lives can be varied: our health is in peril; our finances or marriage on the brink of despair; our child’s life in danger. I don’t know which one you are going through, but at these tumultuous times we experience true anxiety; we feel alone, depressed, undeserving of God’s grace; without hope, as if we are trapped in a deep, dark hole that we cannot escape from. On a personal level, these daily occurrences seem increasingly more difficult. It also happens on a global level with conflict and disagreements that turn into violent clashes that can even lead to the loss of life for some people. So, some people ask, “Where is the world headed?” We cannot deny the truth of these circumstances.

We are not exempt from these experiences as children of God because “In the world you face persecution.…” John 16:33 (NRSV). Our Christian duty is to reflect the victorious character of Jesus.

I invite you to imagine Jesus walking over the turbulent water as related in Matthew 14:27 when he said to the disciples: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

After a time of much anguish, like when you are about to lose your life, or you think you are going to fail, hear the calming voice of Jesus in Matthew 8:26 saying “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. Oh, what a glorious experience!

This wonderful sensation of being protected by the love of God through the manifold expressions of God’s power is available to you for your life. Jesus is extending his hand to assist you and will not let you perish in the turbulent water of this life. He is here to heal you of all your infirmities and all the pain it is possible to experience. There is no one who better understands these difficult situations that we must live through. When the night is at its darkest and most threatening; when you have lost all hope; Jesus walks toward you with every intention of rescuing you, sustaining you and consoling you.

It is possible that you can hear his voice saying: “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). Often, we need to pause and turn our face to Jesus so that we may live out our peace; that peace that allows us to overcome the situation; that peace that fills us with strength to carry on, that enables us to do that which our anguish gets in the way of.

Take the time that you need to today to repeat the words of the disciples: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27) We put our trust in God. He will not put us to shame.

—Adriana Belinda Rodriguez Velasquez is a member of the Peace commission. She is a member of Caminando con Dios, part of the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Hondureña.

Do not be afraid

The 17th of August 2011 is an unforgettable date for me. It is Indonesia’s independence day, one day after my 49th birthday Ð and the day the Chinese government tightened the regulation of bird’s nest imports from Indonesia.

Many entrepreneurs collapsed due to Chinese government’s decision. We were one of the entrepreneurs who were affected by the decision.

Our business stopped. Almost every day the price depreciated to the point that exporters refrained from buying raw materials. Unexpectedly, loss after loss must be experienced by me.

I hoped that the working conditions would recover soon so I could pay my obligations on time. However, for almost eight months the conditions did not recover, instead it worsened! Our business had to be auctioned.

During the hard times, my wife gathered our children and conveyed the impact of the condition to them. We were preparing them mentally if we had to move to our shop because the house had to be handed over to the bank. My wife asked the children to pray for the peace and gratitude to keep our family close.

We imagined they would be terrified, crying and asking questions. However, our children were calm. ÒIt’s okay, Mum; living in the shop is the same as living in an apartment,Ó said our youngest daughter.

ÒI’m sure this house will still be our home, I’m not afraid. God will surely help,Ó said our eldest daughter.

ÒBut mum, dad is still able to work with the drinking water business, isn’t he?Ó said our son. My wife said yes.

We were very blessed with their answers and it gave us the strength to remain enthusiastic to fulfill our responsibilities toward them. I could feel that in the condition we were in, the experience of faith with God was increasingly evident in our lives.

We held hands together and prayed, asking God to give us strength and comfort.

We prayed to be spared unnecessary costs. We prayed for our health, for our daily needs, school fees; to avoid breakdown to the vehicles, electronic devices, household appliances; even for the lightbulbs in our house to last.

We prayed for God to watch the words that came out of our lips and keep us away from quarrels and conflicts, so that we would always be together in the face of struggles.

In my morning prayer on 12, 14 and 16 January 2012, I recorded in my journal that I read about God’s fire, purifying gold, and not relying on your own strength.

It really gave me the confidence. We were sure that we were not alone. God would hold our hands and lead to victory after victory.

ÑAgus Setianto is national co-coordinator of Assembly. He is a member of GKMI (Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia) Gloria Patri, Semarang, Indonesia.