I say this as a concession, not as a command…To the married I give this command (not I – but the Lord)…To the rest I say this (I – not the Lord)…1 Corinthians 7:6, 10, 12.

“…that they may be one just as We are one.” John 17:22.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8.

This morning in our Friday Zoom Retreat, we talked about the help and benefits of Liturgical prayer, a spiritual practice. A framework for being open to God through established patterns and traditions that bring us out of ourselves to be together with God and with His people. Because we all need deep prayers handed down through millenia and shared together reminding us who we are and Whose we are. When our own words fail to express what we long to say, we can turn to prayers beautifully written. This quote from Henri Nouwen was shared: “Prayer therefore is the act of dying to all that we consider to be our own and of being born to a new existence which is not of this world.” And reading our chapter, 2 Corinthians 7, felt very much like that in what Paul was saying to the church in Corinth. A deeply shared experience. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort, I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it – for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while – I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. For this reason we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth. His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.

When I consider the fears I have for this world and all the people in it, and the helplessness to even pray about it with words I can’t seem to form – I realize that in every generation of mankind, are these same fears and uncertainties…so much bigger than us. And they produce in us afflictions on every side: conflicts without, fears within. Yet it is in the coming together that we find hope and comfort. Whether with family, friends, community impacted as one – it is as we help one another that we find the support that is shared and amplified for good. And that is also the support we find as we gather together in our churches, temples, mosques, and home groups. We find deep need that has been lived and shared as long as there have been children of God. That’s why we seek understanding with others. And why, Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! (Galatians 4:6. God has been ever so gently helping me understand how important and needed is His love. How? By understanding it is His Love. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you…that you also love one another. By this…all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35. Paul was right! Make room for us in your hearts! Having room in our hearts for our fellow humans loved by God means first finding God’s love in us. A never-ending circle. With God and with others, we will find strength and help through all the challenges this world throws up unexpectedly. Are we ever prepared for calamity, uncertainty, floods, fires, national turmoils, deep personal woundings, loss of loved ones or even loss of self when the familiar way we thought we knew is blocked with no way around? We can always come to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. And we find that is our deepest prayer of all. And He is here…always.