“Come away with me to a deserted place”

Meditation on “Mark 6:30–34, 53–56”

July 19, 2015

    ‘The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things….When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.’

     ***   

      Tomorrow, we will be hosting for the second year in a row the Camp-in-a-Van program at our church. I am excited for our congregation, that we have been blessed with the means and the desire to host this program of Clearwater Forest Presbyterian Camp. I give thanks to God for the opportunity we have set before us to reach out to the children of our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a creative, energetic, and engaging way.

     The program sends well-trained, college-age camp counselors to lead our children to Jesus through games, motion songs and prayers, Scripture and skits, friendship and stories, crafts and snacks. Last year, the program at Ebenezer inspired children and adult volunteers alike. During those 4 or 5 days, we experienced such joy—until it came time to say goodbye to our three counselors. Then we felt as if we were bidding farewell to members of our family. Tears of gratitude sprang to our eyes.

    But there was one problem with last year’s program. Only a few children attended. And few children from other area churches came, though we invited all the congregations in the ministerium. We are worried that this could happen again this year. So few children have been registered so far! Will another opportunity to nurture the children of our community in the faith just slip by us…again?

    Will we be left wondering “why?” as we were last year? Will we be asking ourselves, “What went wrong?”

***

   In today’s gospel reading in Mark, the apostles return from their teaching and healing mission, and they can’t wait to tell Jesus all they had done. For they have done just what the Lord had taught them—and commanded them to do. Earlier in this chapter, the people in his hometown synagogue who had known Jesus since he was a boy do not believe in him. Their lack of faith prevent Jesus from doing any “deeds of power,” except laying hands on “a few sick people” and curing them. He leaves his town “amazed at their unbelief.”

    Afterward, his disciples follow him as he goes from village to village, teaching in the synagogues. But then it is their turn. Jesus “calls the 12” –commissions them for ministry—and sends them out “two by two,” so they might help one another and work together.  He gives them his authority over “unclean spirits” and teaches them to call people to repentance, cast out demons, anoint people with oil and heal them of disease. We know that the disciples do as Jesus commands because Mark tells us in 6:12 and 13, in his brief and to the point style, “So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

   Now they are back with Jesus, and we have a different image of our Lord taking shape; beginning in verse 31, he is not just “teacher,” “preacher,” or “healer” but loving “shepherd” for the world. His gentle response to hearing the good things that the disciples have done is, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.” But he doesn’t mean, “all by yourselves;” he really means “come away from the world to be with me.” The disciples are tired and hungry, as verse 31 finishes, “For many were coming and going”—meaning many people were coming to them and receiving help—and “they (the disciples) had no leisure even to eat.” Mark repeats the phrase, “deserted place,” in verse 32, emphasizing the disciples’ need to be away where no one else lives—out in the wilderness--to spend time with the Lord so that they may be refreshed, renewed, and equipped to minister again.

   But when they try to get away from the world and be alone with Christ to be nourished and experience God’s rest, what happens? The world--and all its cares--finds them and presses in, begging for help and healing. The word translated “beg” in verse 56, parakaleo, is a gut-wrenching cry, the same one the leper who interrupts Jesus’ ministry uses in Mark 1:40; the same the man possessed by demons uses in 5:10, and the same word Jairus, the synagogue leader, uses when begs Jesus to heal his daughter, for she is at the point of death. And Jesus feels “compassion” for them in 6:34, though the word “compassion” is perhaps too weak to convey the depth of Jesus’ feeling for the people in need. The Greek word refers to a “churning of the gut.” Jesus feels sick inside because the crowd are “like sheep without a shepherd.” The phrase, “like sheep without a shepherd,” echoes Moses’ cry in the desolation of the wilderness in Numbers 27:17, when he yearns for help, a successor to lead the Israelites.

     What happens immediately after the Lord is moved to compassion is, unfortunately, left out of our lectionary passage, which jumps from verse 34 to verse 53. We will discuss this in detail on another day, but just know that we are missing a significant piece of the story, including two miracles-- the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water after he goes up on a mountain by himself to pray. The emphasis in both of these miracles is on the disciples lack of faith, while the people in need—the crowds who have only heard about Jesus and the things he has done but don’t actually know him—are the ones with a strong faith. The marginalized, outcast, poor, sick, demon-possessed, lame and blind are the ones with hearts and minds open to see the power of Jesus and believe! They pursue Jesus for miles and days. Their faith in Christ’s healing power is so great that they beg to touch just the fringe of his cloak. And all who touch it are healed!   

 ***   

    Our gospel reading this week, brothers and sisters, speaks to us of the importance of faith--and underscores the appalling lack of faith of Christ’s own disciples, despite all the miracles they had seen and all Jesus had taught them to do. They lacked faith, despite their successful mission, when Jesus sent them out two by two, calling people to repentance, casting out demons, anointing people with oil and healing them of their disease. The disciples also lacked compassion--the “churning of the gut” feeling that Jesus felt when the crowd follow him and beg to be healed. And although he and the disciples are tired and hungry and seeking out a deserted place to be refreshed and nourished for continued ministry, Jesus reveals the love and mercy of God for our broken world when he stops and cares for the people, seeing “they are like sheep without a shepherd.”

    Our reading today also reveals Jesus the shepherd inviting his beloved followers to come away with him to a deserted place--away from the world and its cares pressing in. We can conclude from this that time alone with the Lord and one another--a holy Sabbath--is necessary for the physical, emotional, and spiritual demands of ministry. Seeking to meet the needs of others can be draining. Ministry is physically and emotionally tiring. And when we are tired and overwhelmed, we lack compassion, and we lack faith. We have to go back to our source--Jesus Christ--and be refreshed and renewed for ministry, once again.

   Like the disciples, we often lack faith in God’s provision and power, even as we plan outreach activities such as Camp in a Van, wondering if anyone will come--and doubting the power and presence of the Holy Spirit among us and Christ’s desire for all children to come to him. When we have been away from church for a while and away from the Word of God and worship with our brothers and sisters in the faith, we may also lack compassion for people in need. We can “forget” about the needs of the poor--and that Christ calls us to meet those needs. Our lives become less about serving Christ and more about concerning ourselves only with the needs and desires of our own families.

    Friends, if we care about the children, as we say we do, and we want to be followers of Christ and reach out with the gospel of hope to our community, then we should not forsake gathering for worship with our brothers and sisters on the Sabbath. For it is our worship, our time alone with God and one another--that builds up our faith and compassion and equips us for fruitful ministry to the children and families of this community. And then, when the Word and Spirit have equipped us for ministry, we can’t just worry that programs such as Camp in a Van won’t be well attended. We all have to do our part in reaching out to individuals and families, seeking to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ, so that hearts and lives may be touched and healed. We must repent from our lack of hope and faith in the power of Christ, like the disciples, and turn back to God in prayer. We need to pray for the families of the community who aren’t committed to following Christ and seeking out worship with Him. And we need to pray that God would refresh, renew and equip us for ministry and stir us to want to minister, not just to one another, but to the community and world.

     Friends, let us seek the Lord together for wisdom to know how to move forward, especially with children’s ministry. Let us ask the Lord to change our hearts so that we would be compelled to act and so that we would have compassion for strangers in need. May we would be moved to see them as Jesus saw the crowds, as sheep without a shepherd, but with great hope and faith, begging to touch even the fringe of his cloak so that they might be healed.

    Jesus is inviting us right now to come away with him to a deserted place, to draw nearer to God’s heart and be strengthened by faith.

    Let us pray.

Father God, Good Shepherd, we thank you for your invitation to come away with you to a deserted place, away from the cares and distractions of the world that weigh us down. Nourish us with Your Word and Spirit. Help us to honor the Sabbath and take time for rest and prayer and meditating on Scripture every day. Thank you for your love for us and urging us to repent and return to you for help, hope and healing. Forgive us, Lord, for our lack of faith and compassion for the community. Stir us to care enough to invite people to our outreach activities, such as Camp in a Van, and even offer to give rides and stay and help. Move us to volunteer as Sunday school teachers and assistants, though we may never have taught or assisted before. Empower us to make new friends and build up existing relationships so that more hearts and lives may be touched and healed in Jesus’ name. And we pray you would bless the counselors, volunteers, students and families who participate in the Camp in a Van program. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this opportunity to change the world by reaching out to children with your love. May we all be changed by your Spirit--refreshed, renewed, and equipped to do your will. Draw us all nearer to your heart. In Christ we pray. Amen.

Living for God's Glory and Praise

Here's the video link to this sermon:

Pastor Karen Crawford July 12, 2015 https://vimeo.com/133301979 "Pastor Karen's sermon from July 12, 2015"

Meditation on Ephesians 1:3-14

July 12, 2015

      “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

      In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

     In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 

      In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.”

***

      We had just finished our lunch last Thursday and were sitting around a table in a conference room at the nursing home. Pastor Dan Bowman, Pastor Tom Evenson, and Pastor Joseph Kim and I were gathered for our monthly ministerium meeting. Our only actual agenda item was to discuss how we might move forward with our community benevolent fund, a project that we have been working on for at least 6 months. Our vision is to establish an orderly system for helping people in crisis through vouchers for gas, groceries, and other essentials, funded by donations and administered by local police. It was Pastor Joseph’s last meeting with us, and it was unfortunate that our Catholic and Methodist colleagues were not able to join us. The atmosphere was, unexpectedly, like no other meeting we’ve had before!

       Pastor Joseph is leaving his congregation next month to begin a doctoral program in Iowa. Although he has been with us three years, we seem to have always been too busy to spend time just getting to know one another as brothers and “sister” in the faith-- since I am the only female minister. But on Thursday, we shared stories from our personal lives. We didn’t try to hide in any way our true selves from one another, and we were filled with a spirit of joy. I laughed so hard at one point that tears were streaming down my face!

     Pastor Dan grew up in Japan, the son of American missionaries, and is notoriously frugal. He told one hilariously detailed account of how he put together a machine to print his own checks so he never has to buy checks from a bank ever again. Then he told the story of the first and only car he ever bought new years ago -- a Toyota Corolla diesel. He was determined to get 300,000 miles on it and get his money’s worth. The car had some issues with rust. Eventually it needed some new doors. He drove to a junkyard and found doors that fit, but they were a different color. He had them installed. Later he went to another junkyard, found 2 more doors that fit and had them installed. They were yet another color. Eventually, Dan named the car, Joseph, for the biblical Joseph whose father, Jacob, gave him a coat of many colors.

    I asked Dan why he didn’t just paint the car one color after he had the junkyard doors installed? That elicited more giggling because, of course, Dan didn’t want to spend the money. He launched into a description of the many things that were wrong with the car -- and the story of how the car finally died. He was driving to still another junkyard looking for an additional part that was needed. He turned into the junkyard driveway, the struts went, and Dan literally drove the car into the ground.

   Appreciative laughter all around.

   Then Pastor Tom -- or maybe it was Pastor Joseph -- asked, “Did you make it to 300,000 miles?”

   “Yep,” said Dan. “Made it to 328,000 miles.”

   We giggled again.

   After each of us had shared from our personal experiences, Joseph marveled that he had learned things he had never known before--especially about Dan, who told most of the stories. Joseph wondered if Dan’s years in Japan had made him more reluctant to share personal things, just as Joseph, a Korean American, learned through his culture to be more reserved.

     Pastor Dan grew serious. “I am broken,” he said, without hesitation. Then he taught us a lesson about grace. He told the story of an ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery--not so the break would be invisible, as we do, but so the broken place would be accentuated. Gold is added to the bonding material, and the broken pottery becomes a work of art, more valuable than before. This is called kintsugi.  The philosophy of kintsugi is similar to the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, embracing the flawed or imperfect.

      Hearing about kintsugi reminded me of our scripture last Sunday, in 2 Cor. 12, when Paul says he will boast of his weaknesses, for when he is weak, he is strong. Paul had appealed to the Lord to remove the “thorn in the flesh” that God had given him. But God said, “My grace is sufficient for you! For my power is made perfect in weakness.”

    Dan’s story of kintsugi also stirred thoughts of how the broken pottery repaired with gold is a marvelous image of what God has accomplished for us through the blood of Jesus Christ, poured out for our sins. We are made whole, more beautiful and valuable than ever before. But the broken places do not completely disappear, and we should never try to conceal them. For in the attempt to cover up our flaws, we hide the love and grace of our Redeemer.

***

    The message in our reading in Ephesians, much like last Sunday’s reading in 2 Corinthians, is all about grace. In today’s epistle, we are assured of our redemption through Christ’s shed blood. Our sins are forgiven by the riches of God’s grace “lavished on us.” But unlike Paul’s simple encouragement to boast of our weaknesses in 2 Corinthians, for God’s grace is sufficient for our sin, we learn that God’s grace isn’t randomly bestowed or universally received. That while God’s love extends to the entire world, God has chosen certain people for a purpose, before they are even born; in fact, “before the foundation of the world.”

     In the Presbyterian Church, we talk about this choice as “election.” This is part of the mystery of God’s love, the “mystery,” says the writer of Ephesians, “of God’s will.” We are not told this so that we will be arrogant about being “chosen,” for it is an honor that we have not earned. We are not told this so we can look around at other people and wonder if they are God’s chosen, too. The passage is, however, meant to be comforting to believers gathered to worship and listen for God’s Word. We are encouraged and lifted up by the knowledge that we are predestined to be God’s “adopted” children or, more literally, predestined for “adoption as sons.” The emphasis is on God’s initiative in salvation; this is God’s choice--not ours! The Greek word translated “adoption as sons” is also found in Romans and Galatians and comes from Greco-Roman law (Andrew Lincoln, Word Biblical Commentary, 25). A well-to-do but childless adult who wanted an heir would adopt a male, usually older than an infant and often a slave, to be his son and heir. Paul applies this legal term to the “privileged new relationship believers have with God” in Jesus Christ.

     But I want to make sure you hear more than the message of our being “chosen” for redemption and our “privileged relationship” with God through the Son. Listen to the reason why you have been redeemed! The grace that has been “lavished” on us provides our redemption AND “all wisdom and insight”--all that we need to know--to understand and live according to God’s purpose for us, according to God’s will. What is this purpose? What is God’s will? In verses 11 and 12, we read: “In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.” We find God’s purpose articulated in verses 5 and 6, as well, with the focus more specifically on God’s grace. “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”

 ***

    Yesterday, Pastor Dan told me that he had been thinking about our conversation on Thursday and was writing a kintsugi catechism. He plans to share the hope of Jesus through the story of the broken pottery, repaired with gold mixed with the bonding material to accentuate the flaws, rather than attempt to hide that the pottery was broken. He wanted me to tell him again what I had said when we talked--how our redemption is like kintsugi.

    We are like the broken pottery, redeemed by the blood of Christ, the “gold” that accentuates and fills our broken places and makes us whole. We are more beautiful and precious than ever before! But we must not try to hide our broken places, lest we also conceal what our merciful God has done for us--Christ’s shed blood for our sakes.     

     Beloved, you are redeemed for a purpose! You are destined, from the foundation of the world, to share God’s glorious grace! You are chosen to be God’s adopted children, living for God’s glory and praise!

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for choosing us for your redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ and for a special purpose. Thank you for your grace that you lavish on us. Forgive us for not sharing your love and forgiveness with the world and not always responding to your Great Commission with joy. Help us to live not for ourselves and our own interests but for your glory and praise. Lead us to share the hope of salvation with all we meet by revealing the broken places in us that never completely heal, much like the Japanese pottery repaired with gold, to accentuate, rather than hide, what has been broken. Transform us by your Spirit so that we may be, more and more, the image of your humble Son, through whom we pray. Amen.

“When I am weak, I am strong”

Here's the video link to this sermon:

Pastor Karen Crawford July 5, 2015 https://vimeo.com/132707934 "Pastor Karen's sermon from July 5, 2015: "Strong in my weakness.""

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10    

July 5, 2015

     “I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

***

   “The hardest day was in early February. Cindy (Morgan) had just finished teaching a spiritual formation class at St. Andrew’s Theological College in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was about to leave campus when six cocktail bombs exploded outside the front gate. Within minutes, 20 policemen, thinking the bombs had been thrown from inside the campus, stormed the premises with guns drawn.

   “Since early January,” Les Morgan writes in his May newsletter to the congregations that support them in their ministry, “opposition political parties in Bangladesh, demanding fresh elections, had been enforcing a countrywide road and rail blockade.” Many people had been killed. “Hundreds more were injured by firebombs thrown at trains, trucks, buses, cars and autorickshaws. There was little the police could do. How do you stop a network of paid political thugs lurking amidst a population of 165 million people?”

       Drs. Les and Cindy Morgan, medical missionaries to Bangladesh since 1989, had no choice but to retreat to their apartment and watch the news. And wait and worry and pray.

     We often think of missionaries as people who are different than we are. Certainly they are out of the ordinary, if they are willing to leave behind country, kin, and the financial benefits of a medical career in the States to serve the Lord in a mission field as difficult as Bangladesh. The predominantly Muslim country struggles with poverty and polluted air and water; hunger and homelessness; high unemployment and illiteracy; crowding and crime. Many live in unsanitary conditions and lack access to adequate healthcare.

    But missionaries are human. They have the same needs and desires that we do. Les and Cindy have often been homesick. They have longed for clean air, water, and the wealth of space, quiet and privacy that we have in this country. They have felt, at times, anxious and afraid. In February, the political unrest and violence that led to their confinement in their apartment stirred them to question if God really wanted them to go on with their ministry in Bangladesh, teaching and preaching, helping to prepare new leaders for the Church, and providing comfort and hope, help and healing.

     Les writes, “Such dangerous times cause us to think anew about our work. Is it worth all the hardship, tension and risk? If so, where will we get the strength to continue?”

***

      Les has the humility to reveal his weakness and brokenness to encourage us to do the same. In 2 Corinthians 11 and 12, the apostle Paul addresses an audience that, though they are Christian, are accustomed to the habit of boasting to impress others, just like everyone else in the worldly Corinthian society in which they live. Paul is teaching a lesson on humility, without coming out and directly saying to them, “Stop boasting and trying to impress one another because it gets in the way of your witness to Christ.” Capturing his audience’s attention with his promise of “a little” boasting, he proceeds to reveal, in a very personal and intimate way, his humiliations, fears, and failures. He describes being whipped, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, and adrift at sea. He has suffered “perils” of rivers and brigands, perils that came from his own countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils upon the sea, perils among false brethren, in labor and toil, in many a sleepless night, in hunger and in thirst, in fastings, in cold and nakedness. He tells of his anxiety for the Churches. “Is there anyone’s weakness which I do not share?” he asks. “Is there anyone who stumbles and I do not burn with shame?” He finishes, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things of my weakness.”

   Our reading today in 2 Cor. 12 is a continuation of Paul’s humility lesson, beginning with the apostle mentioning a spiritual experience he had 14 years before. Unlike other religious people of his day who use elaborate details of “visions” to build themselves up and gain more followers, Paul provides few details about his “vision” or “revelation.” He refuses to share what God has spoken to Him or what “Paradise” is like. He mentions the vision to contrast his happiness at being granted such a vision, only to be tormented afterward by a “thorn in the flesh,” “a messenger of Satan” that God allows so that Paul would not become “too elated” or conceited about his spiritual gifts.

      So what does Paul mean by “thorn in the flesh”? We don’t know for sure, but the Church has had a variety of ideas over the centuries (according to William Barclay). John Calvin believed Paul meant spiritual temptations or the temptation to doubt or not do what the apostle should do--and the pain of conscience at the realization of his sin. Martin Luther thought it was the opposition and persecution Paul faced. Others say it was sexual temptation. The early Christian fathers Tertullian and Jerome believed Paul had severe headaches. He may have had eye trouble, which might explain the headaches. He is blinded on the Damascus Road in Acts 9:9, and his eyesight may never have fully recovered. In Galatians 4:15, Paul says the Galatians would have “plucked out their eyes” and given them to him. In Galatians 6:11, Paul may have been referring to his poor handwriting due to his failing eyesight when he says, “See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand.”

     Three times Paul asked the Lord to remove the thorn “given him” in the flesh. But the Lord did not. God says, “My grace is sufficient for you.” My grace is enough! “For power is made perfect in weakness.”

     Paul must have surprised the Corinthians when he concludes, “Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecution, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

*** 

      Les Morgan comes to a similar conclusion, after sharing his anxiety and doubts about having the strength to continue their mission in Bangladesh amidst the dangers. He attended an evening retreat at the end of February that Cindy’s students were leading, riding a rickshaw to the 200-year-old St. Thomas Church. “Inside the darkened sanctuary,” Les writes, “65 small terracotta lamps--open clay saucers of mustard oil with short wicks of twisted cotton--illumined the sacred space. As I sat silently with the other(s)…in a semicircle on the floor of the sanctuary, I saw in the light of the surrounding lamps the answer to the question of where Cindy and I would find the strength to continue serving as missionaries in this country. For there, shining in the darkness, merged into a sacred Light enveloping us and encouraging us on our journey, were the faithful ones--those through whom the Holy Spirit empowers us to do what we do.”

   This is God’s grace, friends! Les and Cindy don’t have the power to minister on their own. But they have access to God’s power in their weakness; the Holy Spirit that dwells in other Christians who pray and give financial support to them ministers to them. Les mentions a first grader in Arkansas who keeps Les and Cindy’s picture propped up on her bedroom dresser and prays for them nightly; a church in Georgia that regularly sends them cards to remind them of their presence with the couple; a church in Louisiana that dedicated their Christmas Eve offering to support ministries of healing in Bangladesh; a high school student in Kansas who, every month, contributes a portion of the money he earns through his part time job; a pediatrician in Georgia who prays for them every morning; and the hundreds of congregations--like us-- that join them every week in prayer for individuals in need in Bangladesh.

      Yes, brothers and sisters! We are one of the hundreds of congregations that pray for Les and Cindy’s ministry every week. We include Les’s prayer for Bangladesh in our bulletin announcements and on our Facebook page. Through God’s grace and the gift of His Spirit, the Lord is using us to empower missionaries--ordinary people with an extraordinary calling--to do amazing things for God.

      Friends, the Spirit in us enables us through prayer and encouraging words to empower one another to do the work God has called us to do! But like the Corinthians, we live in a society where we are afraid to speak of our weaknesses; we boast of our strengths so that others will think well of us. But here in this place, in Christ’s Church, we should be able to find safety and grace amongst fellow sinners to be ourselves. “Boasting” of our weaknesses requires courage to be vulnerable and trust that no one will hurt us or take advantage of us in our vulnerability. Boasting of our weaknesses requires humility and the desire to have the power of Christ lifted up, rather than our own strengths or achievements. Sharing our weaknesses requires faith that the Lord does truly work through them to accomplish His purposes and that we are forgiven not by our own strengths or good works, but by the work of Jesus Christ for our sakes.

    Friends, do you have the compassion to encourage and pray for others in their weakness? Can you be trusted to be kind and understanding when others reveal their weaknesses to you? Do you have the courage to “boast” of your weaknesses, like Paul, believing God when He says, “My grace is sufficient for you.” My grace is enough! “For my power is made perfect in weakness.”

    And if you have doubts or feel afraid, like Les and Cindy in Bangladesh, that you won’t have the strength to do what God is calling you to, remember Paul’s lesson on humility,

    “Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecution, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Let us pray.

Holy One, thank you for Jesus Christ, who humbled himself to the point of death on a cross for our sakes. Thank you for your forgiveness for our sins through our belief on Him. Thank you for your power that is made perfect in our weakness. Give us courage to be like Paul and boast of our weaknesses. Grant us compassion to be kind and pray for one another as we share our weaknesses and praise you for your strength! We pray that this place--Your Church--would be a place of safety and grace, so that we will all be free to be ourselves, the people you have made us to be. Humble us and build up our faith so that, no matter whatever emotional or physical “thorn” we may suffer, we will serve you in gladness and gratitude for all of our days. And we pray for strength and joy for Les and Cindy Morgan. Bless them in their ministry for your sake. Keep them safe. Build up the Church of Bangladesh--and your Church around the world. In Christ we pray. Amen.