November 2023

Dear Friends of First,

According to a medieval legend, God once sent two angels to the earth on a special mission, with each one of them carrying a basket. One angel was assigned to gather up all of the prayers of petition, and the other was assigned to gather up all of the prayers of thanksgiving. The first angel returned very quickly, and her basket was overflowing with requests. “Ah, yes,” reported this angel, “the people of God have remembered well the Bible’s counsel: ‘Ask, and you shall receive.’” Yet the second angel was gone a long time, and when she finally returned, her basket was nearly empty. “I had a hard time finding people who pray prayers of thanksgiving,” she said quietly.

Like everyone else, I too have plenty of prayer petitions to place in the first angel’s basket, including prayers of mercy, compassion, and reconciliation, upon all the children in the Middle East: Jews, Muslims and Christians, Palestinians and Israelis. I pray that hatred be turned into love, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, occupation to liberation. I pray that peace and justice could be experienced by all. I ask God to inspire and empower each of us to be not part of the problem, but rather part of the answer, bringing an end to racism, gun violence, oppression, poverty, hunger and homelessness in our own community. Empower us with divine global love for all humanity.

At the same time, I do not want to neglect the second angel’s basket, as we are all often tempted to do. I want to give thanks for a God who steadfastly refuses to give up on any of us—a God who is forever and always at work for good: forming, reforming, and transforming the world, the church, and every human heart. I want to give thanks for the privilege of being called and to be able to serve—along with all my siblings in faith—to be active participants amidst the ongoing struggle for peace with justice in our neighborhoods, and our world. I want to give thanks for the strength God graciously promises to us in the midst of that struggle. I want to give thanks to Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, for still offering the world a glimpse of hope for people who keep humbly seeking to learn, and to live together in love.

Yes, I have my petitions, but I also have my prayers of thanksgiving...not just on the day of Thanksgiving, but always!

With a thankful heart,
Pastor Jim