Tuesday, December 22, 2020


Although the winter solstice was yesterday and the time of sunrise here in the eastern United States was 7:18 AM, it takes at least a full 24 hours to feel the effect of the increasing light we will soon experience.  This morning sunrise will be 7:19, but wait! Isn’t this going backwards?  Not really because the sun will set one minute later than yesterday.  So for this 24 hours, there really is no change.


No change.  What a dreadful thought!  There are times, of course, we don’t want change, but in this season of Covid Christmas, we want to see change for the better. Change for the better is more than the vaccine that promises to protect us; change for the better means reconstructing our society in such a way that there is equity and justice in medical care.


The Covid crisis has awakened us to the disparities not only in health care but in other aspects of our lives. In some ways, the words of Mary’s song in Luke will come true: essential workers are the ones on the front lines, not earning a lot while the upper class professionals who can work remotely may be the last to receive the vaccine.


Prayer for the Day


Illuminating God, your sunrise and sunset remind us of your constant presence.

    Illumine us with your wisdom and bring us to your peace.

Binding God, you weave us together as weft and warp on a loom;

    Bind us even more closely together as your people      

Awaken in each of us the possibility of new life and new vision,

    So we reflect your grace and wisdom in the world

As did the One we follow,

    Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen


Thoughts for the Day


Activism is part of discipleship, but the difference is that our goal can never be the annihilation of other people. As followers of The Way, our goal is the redemption of all people ... even those who stand against us. 
                                           
  - Traci Blackmon, Pastor, Florissant, Missouri


Be not simply good; be good for something

                                             - Henry David Thoreau, writer and activist (1817-1862)


O guard my life and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you;

   May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

                                                Psalm 25: 20-21