Ordinary Time

Pause

How do we need to be healed?

For our physical selves and in our inmost hearts–

For our individual lives and in our families–

For our schools, neighborhoods, and communities–

For our countries and across continents–

From the depths of the ocean to the moon and back–

We pray:

God, show us mercy.

Listen

With tears of joy they will come; while they pray, I will bring them back. I will lead them by quiet streams and on smooth paths so they don’t stumble. I will be Israel’s father, Ephraim will be my oldest child.

Jeremiah 31:9

Think

The prophet Jeremiah expresses God’s promise to people of faith, God’s own children: I’ll bring you home.

At home in God, the tears in our eyes are tears of joy, not of pain or sadness or rage. At home in God, the shouts on our lips are shouts of praise, not of anger or hate. At home in God, the cries of our hearts are shared prayers, not solitary pleas.

When we follow God home, the noisy world will quiet down. The road under our feet will smooth out. This is God’s healing: the journey doesn’t end, but it becomes a way of rejoicing. Take joy in the calm waters, the clear path. Take joy in the family that walks with you, whoever they are, wherever they come from, however they came to this road.

Let your heart rest here; be at home on this way.

Nikki Finkelstein-Blair

Pray

God, let me believe that there is room for me in your family, where I can walk safely and cry joyfully. Let me believe that there is room for all to be healed. Show me the way home with you. Amen.

Go

Follow Jesus' invitation: Seek, and find mercy.

Ask, and share in healing.

Gather, and join in praise.

Go, and be overjoyed.

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