LABC Update – Wednesday, August 2, 2023

A Prayer for the Tired, Angry Ones by Laura Jean Truman   God, We’re so tired. We want to do justice, but the work feels endless, and the results look so small in our exhausted hands. We want to love mercy, but our enemies are relentless, and it feels like foolishness to prioritize gentleness in this unbelievably cruel world. We want to walk humbly, but self-promotion is seductive, and we are afraid that if we don’t look after ourselves, no one will. We want to be kind, but our anger feels insatiable. Jesus, in this never-ending wilderness, come to us and grant us grace. Grant us the courage to keep showing up to impossible battles, trusting that it is our commitment to faithfulness, not our obsession with results, that will bring in Your shalom. Grant us the vulnerability to risk loving our difficult and complicated neighbor, rejecting the lie that some people are made more in the image of God than others. Grant us the humility of a decentered but Beloved self. As we continue to take the single step that is in front of us, Jesus, keep us from becoming what we are called to transform. Protect us from using the empire’s violence—in our words, in our theology, in our activism, and in our politics—for Your kingdom of peace. Keep our anger from becoming meanness. Keep our sorrow from collapsing into self-pity. Keep our hearts soft enough to keep breaking. Keep our outrage turned towards justice, not cruelty. Remind us that all of this, every bit of it, is for love. Keep us fiercely kind. Amen.   from A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal, ed. Sarah Bessey     Today on LABC Zoom – Pastor Jim leads Bible Study 10:30 Online: https://zoom.us/j/8599095914 Dial-in: 1 669 900 9128 Meeting ID: 859 909 5914 Password: 192833   Contribute Your ongoing support of the ministry of our church is greatly appreciated. We are checking the mail so feel free to mail your check or to contribute online.