Presence

I reflect on God’s life-giving presence, within me and around me, as I begin this time of prayer.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 5:43-47 NRSVue

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same?

Reflection

How resistant am I to people of other cultures? Other skin colours? Other religions? Do I surround myself with people just like me, people with similar stations in life, with similar backgrounds, similar beliefs, and similar viewpoints? Do I think this is a good thing? Isn’t it far more difficult to welcome the stranger, to love the seemingly unlovable, to speak with those who think differently? Today, grateful for the diversity in our world, I will make an effort to talk to someone I would normally avoid. I will seek out someone from a different culture, a different background, a different religion, and I will have a conversation with them. 

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, reveal any prejudices, fear or resistance in my heart, to reaching out to those who are different from me. Today, surprise me and bless me in an encounter with someone I would not normally talk to, and bless them through their encounter with me, also.  Amen.