Never Alone
by Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon
Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalms 70 Hebrews 12:1-3 John 13:21-32
As we wait upon the realization of God’s perfect peace, we can grow weary, worn, and wondering. As we wait for Easter Sunday, may we be heartened by the great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12, run with perseverance, and keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”
An excerpt from a prayer written by Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah that was written for the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel 2016:
Dismantling barriers and dividing walls. So many wise men have said: humanity needs bridges, not walls. But war leaders in our holy land have responded by building the separation wall, plus checkpoints dividing the country in more than one place, and creating more separation and more hatred in the hearts. Lord, we come to you. You are our Father; you care for every one of us, for the Israeli and the Palestinian…
Lord, We are waiting for those who will bring us the good news of peace. The good news of dismantling the separation wall and checkpoints. The good news of opening the eyes and the hearts of all, so that we become able to see each other, for what we truly are, brothers and sisters.
For what we truly are, “in your image and resemblance.”
Lord, we are waiting for your hour to come,
The hour of salvation, of new life without wall and checkpoints,
The hour of new hearts filled with your love.
We keep hoping with the “hope which will not let us down, because your love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).
Lord, hear us. Amen