Renewing Worship 249, “When the Poor Ones”
Devotion
It’s happened more than once. Weary from the demands of ministry, I discover that I have forgotten to make one of those “calls of mercy.” In total exhaustion or aggravation (sometimes both) I travel toward the hospitalized, the homebound, or the lonely. I say to myself, “I’ll make it quick.” There, in that setting, with broken pastor meeting broken parishioner, the miracle unfolds. Sometimes with the icy sweetness of lemonade, sometimes with the warmth of gingerbread, but more often than not, through a word of hope or grace from a person whose situation is surely hopeless and cursed, God blesses me and I am renewed. It sounds so trite to say, “sometimes I get more than I give,” but without that truth my ministry could not continue. The Spirit of God dwells within all of God’s people and God doesn’t discriminate when choosing through whom God will bless us next.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, broken healer of our world, open our hearts to your rich blessings as we encounter you in the presence of the brokenness of others and in our own wounded souls. Amen.