Weekend Sermon -- A Prayer of St. Francis

    Part of the post is showing up with a white background.  I don't know why this is doing this, and I've not been able to fix it.  I am sorry for any inconvenience.

    Thank you for taking the time to read the blog and the sermon this week.  I am thankful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to do the blog.  I hope that everyone is having a good week.

     I would like to ask everyone to pray for those in California who are in the path of the terrible fires.  Please pray that these fires will be extinguished, and pray for those working to contain the fires that they will not be harmed.

     From what I hear from people on the ground in Puerto Rico, they still don't have the aid that they need to get back on their feet.  Please pray for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that they will receive the assistance they require to get back on their feet.  Those in Dominica, Turks and Caicos and other islands in the Caribbean also need assistance and our prayers.  Please continue to pray for those in Florida and Texas affected by the storms.

     I would ask that you pray for me once again.  Tomorrow, we are supposed to have some very bad storms in the afternoon and evening.  I am very worried about this.  Please pray that these storms won't be bad.  I thank you for your prayers.

     I don't have too much news on the job situation.  Writing hasn't been that good this week.  Please pray that writing will pick up and that the part-time job situation will work itself out.

     Remember to continue praying for peace in the world.  Pray for peace in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and Iraq.

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray for those in Guinea-Bissau and Uzbekistan.  Prayer that many will hear of the love of Jesus.

     Last week, I brought a message about St. Francis, animals and the environment.  Today, I would like for us to reflect on one of the well known prayers that was prayed by St. Francis.  Let us see what we can learn from this prayer.

     The prayer reads as follows:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive, 

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

     The prayer begins by asking the Lord that we might be those who are used to bring peace into the world.  Jesus told as that, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."  The Bible also tells us to, "Seek peace and pursue it."

     Christians should be people that try to bring peace in difficult situations.  As the prayer says, one way we bring peace is by sowing love in the midst of hate.  Right now in the United States where I live, it seems as if there is a great deal of hatred.  People on different sides of the political spectrum say hateful things to each other.  There is racial tension.  There is a lot of turmoil in society right now.

     In the midst of this, we must continue to share the truth of Jesus who was the man of love.  The church cannot be seen as a place of hate.

     Jesus came to show His love for all people.  Jesus loved everyone, and He called all people to come to Him.  We as His followers must show love in the midst of darkness.  We reach our hands to those in need and help those who are hurting.

     As believers in Jesus, we must be those who pardon and forgive.  When we see people in despair, we are the ones who must give words of encouragement and healing.  We must be the ones who tell people of the hope that comes from having a relationship with the Lord Jesus.

     There is much darkness in the world, but we are the ones who have been given the task of shining the light of the love of Jesus into the world to drive away the darkness.  Those in the darkness must be drawn to the light of the love of Christ.

     So many are lonely and depressed.  They are sad.  However, we are believers in Jesus can bring joy to those who are in despair.  Joy comes from knowing the peace of Jesus that will fill the hearts of all who seek Him.

     In the second part of this prayer, we ask that we seek the good of others more than we seek good for ourselves.  We don't seek consolation so much as to bring consolation to others who are in need.

     We seek to understand the hurts and struggles that others are facing.  This is one of the things that people need most.  I know that as a young man when I was facing depression, the thing that I wanted most was for someone to understand me. I needed someone to accept me for who I was.

     Love is what the Christian faith is about.  We who have experienced the love of Jesus in our hearts must give that love to others.  We seek out those who need to know that Jesus loves them and cares about them.

    In the final portion of this prayer, is says that in giving we receive.  Jesus told us that it is better to give than to receive. Saint Francis gave all that he had to the poor.  Jesus calls us to give to others of our resources and of ourselves.  This week, think about some ways that you can give to help others.

     In pardoning we our pardoned.  This recalls the words of Jesus where He tells us that we must be willing to forgive others, or we will not be forgiven.

     It is dying that we are born to eternal life.  When we die to sin and receive Jesus, we are a new creation.  We have eternal life now and in the future.  If we are in Christ, we know that when we pass away from this world, we will be where Jesus is because He has gone to prepare a place for us.

     I think that this is a powerful and deeply meaningful prayer.  This prayer has been set to music, and there are several online videos where you can here the musical setting.  At the end of the sermon, I will post a link where you can here one nice version.

     Next week may be a different schedule depending on what happens with this job.  I will post the verses on Monday, and there will be a review on Wednesday.  However, the sermon may not be posted until Saturday.  I will know more later, and I will let you know.  May God bless you all. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X_5kPyLHoM