John Wertz, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

If you woke up from a 30-year coma and turned on the news, what do you think would surprise you most about the world today?

Working Together Despite Disagreement

On Tuesday, November 8, Americans will go to the polls to vote elect a new president.  Whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton is elected, chances are that at least 40% of the country will be bitterly disappointed with the result.  Sadly this election season may have set a new record for mean-spirited exchanges, dirty tactics and vocalized anger.  Instead of offering solutions for how we might feed the hungry, lift up the poor, or work for peace in the world, the campaigns have focused on personal attacks, on lifting up negative news about our country, and on reinforcing partisanship.  If one estimate is correct, our country will have spent $5 billion dollars on this campaign season which has sowed seeds of division and highlighted the worst traits of our political system.

Regardless of who wins the election, there are real issues in our country which need to be addressed.

• How do we provide assistance to those who are unemployed or underemployed?
• How do we lift up those without a voice who are left out of mainstream life?
• How do we work for racial equality and erase socio-economic segregation?
• How do we create safe communities for all citizens and safe working conditions for those who serve and protect others?
• How do we prioritize governmental functions like protection, infrastructure, and social services?
• How do we care for those who are sick in mind, body, or spirit?

The answers to these questions and hundreds of others will be hard to find, but one thing is sure, they will not be found without cooperation and compromise.

The campaign we just experienced and the last 30 plus years of political discourse have created an “us verses them” mentality in the political realm, but regardless of which political party you support, you and I are each citizens of the same country, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.   We may not all agree about tax rates, military budgets, or health care, but if we commit to working together, to showing love to our enemies, to offering kindness in the face of hate, and to treating others the way we want to be treated, then despite our disagreements we can began to seek the common good and build up the whole community.

Discussion Questions

• Would you ever consider going into politics? Why or why not?
• If you could change one thing about our political system, what would it be?
• If you had 5 billion dollars to spend to make the world better, how would you invest it?

All Saints Sunday

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

Ephesians 1:11-23

Luke 6:20-31

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

During his ministry, Jesus encountered plenty of opposition.  Some religious leaders saw him as a threat and disagreed with his teaching.  Some political leaders worried that he might start a rebellion.  Some neighbors were stirred to anger by his words and refused to hear him.  In his place, you or I might have given up on our mission, but not Jesus.  Jesus continues to speak God’s Word in the face of opposition – lifting up a vision of God’s kingdom and calling God’s people to faithfulness.  Jesus words may not have always made him friends, but they provided hope, inspired introspection, and offered a better way forward for the world.

For those who were struggling in life, the hope Jesus proclaimed was undeniable. “Blessed are you who are poor,” Jesus said, “for yours is the kingdom of God.”(Luke 6:20)  In that time, kingdoms weren’t for the poor.  Kingdoms were for the rich and the social elite and if you weren’t born into money or status, it was virtually impossible to change you station in life.  Jesus, however, makes it clear that God’s kingdom welcomes the poor and the outcast, not just the rich and well-connected.  God’s kingdom is a place where all are on equal footing and welcomed to God’s table of grace.  For the poor, the weeping, the reviled, and the excluded in this life Jesus is essentially reaching out with loving arms, embracing them and helping them  know they are loved by God.

For those who are rich and prosperous, Jesus’ words invite introspection and repentance.  “But woe to you who are rich,” Jesus says, “for you have received your consolation.” (Luke 6:24)  In that time if you were wealthy, it was thought to be a sign that God favored you.  Jesus, however, offers a different interpretation.  Wealth, Jesus seems to be saying, is fleeting, so if you have invested your whole heart in simply accumulating and enjoying the riches of this world, then you have invested poorly.  Instead of investing your heart in worldly wealth, invest in building a relationship with God and in sharing the gifts you have been given.  The abundance of God eternal kingdom far exceeds what you can accumulate for yourself in this world.

Interestingly, Jesus follows his words of hope and his call for repentance by offering advice for all of God’s people to help them live more effectively in relationship with one another.  Love your enemies,” Jesus says, “do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. . . . Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:27-28, 31).  Worldly kingdoms and political parties may try to eliminate their enemies, may speak out against those who disagree with them, and may strike back against those who oppose them, but God’s kingdom is different.  Whether you see yourself on the “blessed” side of the equation or the “woe” side of the equation, Jesus suggests that the way forward in life is love, not hate; generosity, not selfishness; prayer, not retribution.

The problems in our world today are complex. The division between groups is deep, but if we can commit to following Jesus’ advice and treating others the way that we want to be treated, then perhaps we can start to make progress in building both healthier, stronger relationships with one another and a healthier, better world for all God’s people.

Discussion Questions

• When you are facing problems, where do you find hope and help?
• Loving your enemy is hard. What does it look like for you to love your enemy?  What does it look like for a country to love its enemy?
• How do you want others to treat you at school, at church and at home? Give one example of how you might treat someone in the way that you want to be treated.

Activity Suggestions

• Circle of Complements:

Option 1: Have the group sit in a circle and invite each person to offer a complement to the person next to them.  If the group doesn’t know each other well, you might need to prompt that you could offer one positive statement about the other person’s appearance.

Option 2: Have the group sit in a circle and invite each person to offer one positive statement about themselves.  Encourage the group to affirm and support the statements.

• Declare Random Act of Kindness Day:

Invite the members of the group to undertake one random act of kindness per day for an entire week. Encourage the group to be prepared to talk about what they did and how it made them feel the next time the group gathers.

Closing Prayer

Loving God, we give you thanks for your presence with us in times of joy and in times of need.  Be with our country as we prepare for the presidential election.  Regardless of the results, help us all seek ways to work together to build up the whole community.  Inspire each of us, by your love and by Jesus’ teachings, to care for one another and to treat others as we would like to be treated.  Amen.

David Delaney, Salem, VA

Warm-up Questions

• In the United States, what day of the year do we most associate with freedom? It’s probably the Fourth of July. With election day coming up, some may also think about that.  Does anyone think of Easter Day or even Good Friday?  It’s nice to celebrate national freedom, but what about freedom from sin, or freedom from death?  And Reformation Day is all about those!
• It has been 499 years since the event that we remember as the symbolic beginning of the Reformation. What’s a good way to visualize that many years?  Compare it to the age of your house or of your town or city, or of the United States, or anything else that feels like it has been around a long time.
• On Oct. 31, 1517, Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in order to get the attention of professional theologians and start a conversation about salvation. What would you do today to get people’s attention and start a conversation about salvation?

You Will Be Free

Two different stories about freedom:

In late September, billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, announced a 3-billion dollar initiative for research aimed at eradicating chronic diseases, especially things like infectious disease, heart disease, cancer and neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and autism.  It may sound like a wildly irrational idea, but some influential scientists think that it’s not as unrealistic as it sounds at first, given how far the science of medicine has come in the last century.  The goal would be to make the human species “disease-free” by the end of the current century.

For more information:  http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/23/495184078/whats-the-prognosis-for-mark-zuckerbergs-3-billion-health-plan

Around the same time, the new president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duerte, announced that one of the major foreign policy goals for his administration was going to free the country from a “shackling dependency” on the United States for military aid, which some say brings with it a similar dependence on American business and political interests for southeast Asia.

For more information:  http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-07/rodrigo-duterte-wants-to-free-philippines-from-us-shackles-foreign-minister-says

Discussion Questions

• Freedom is a tricky idea.  What are some differences between these two kinds of freedom represented in these stories – freedom from disease and freedom from outside influence and control ?
• In yet another recent news story, Microsoft announced that its xbox360 subscribers would be getting two new games “for free” in October.  Which of all of these do you think is the most powerful version of the word “free”?

Reformation Sunday

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Recall that in Jesus’ day, the Jewish people in Israel’s ancient homeland were living under political and military occupation by the Roman Empire, so “freedom” was a disputed concept for them.  For some, it had to mean ejecting the Romans from their country and reestablishing their own government, and for others it meant a defiant worship and religious behavior in spite of the Roman presence.  Either way, God’s people there thought often about freedom.

Here in John 8, Jesus is deep into an argument with Pharisees (a group committed to strict religious observance) and the official religious leaders (called “The Jews” in John’s gospel).  We get the impression that they are people who are really very anxious to have someone who is honestly sent from God and can lead them not only into deeper faith in God but also possibly answer this question about what makes for true freedom.  If one reads all of John 8 starting at verse 12, it becomes clear that they have difficulty understanding him.  And yet the bottom line that we have here in 8:36 is that the most important freedom one can experience is the kind of freedom from sin that only Jesus gives.

On every Reformation Sunday, we read this lesson along with a set of parallel lessons from Jeremiah 31 and Romans 3.  The readings help us recall that the ministry of Martin Luther had at its core the goal of getting the church back to its job of proclaiming God’s grace that sets us free from servitude to our sinful desires and enables us to stand against the large forces of sin that lead to the brokenness and injustice of this world.

Discussion Questions

• What is your definition of freedom?  Do you personally feel free?  Where in your life are you under some kind of unavoidable obligation or relationship?  Are there invisible or secret things in your life that have a kind of control over you so much that you don’t feel free?  What would it take for you to feel “free indeed”?
• Do you know young people who live with so few boundaries and restrictions that it seems like literally no one can tell them what to do?  Do they seem free?  What are some ways in which people who seem to have an outward freedom are still not free on the inside or whose habits and addictions are so powerful that they clearly have to obey them?
• How does Jesus grant true freedom?  One answer is to recall that his death and resurrection overcomes the first most powerful motivator in human life – fear of death.  Another is to note that his call to follow his word and orient our lives toward the will of God the Father overcomes the second most powerful motivator in human life – the fear of being meaningless and the  fear of being left out or missing out – and replaces that fear with a promise of a life filled with possibilities for serving others and inviting them to also share in the goodness of God’s will for us.

Activity Suggestions

• Illustrate how crippling the power of bondage can be with a game where students wrap a rubber band (not too tight!) around their fingers and thumbs and then try to unwrap a piece of candy.  They may eventually get to it, but it will be difficult.  To make it harder, tie plastic shopping bags over their hands.  They may *think* their hands are free, but when it comes to trying to unwrap a piece of candy again, it is very difficult with the slippery bags on their hands.  Where else in life are we fooled into thinking we are free when really we are tied up?
• Luther’s 95 theses are easily found by doing a Google search.  Many of them require explanation based on the historical context, and if your group is interested in that, there are also many easy-access internet sites that can summarize their purpose.  Have the group read through those and identify any that still seem to make sense even without needing a lot of historical explanation.
• If the group were going to write “theses” to call the church to faithfulness today, what would they say?  You will probably not have time to get to 95, but maybe 9!
• In this anniversary year prior to October 1517, there are many resources available from the ELCA, from church publishing houses, and from synods and congregations that help us to explore the ongoing significance of the Reformation for ourselves.  Help your students locate some of those and consider undertaking a year of study together on one of Luther’s important writings (like the Large Catechism).

Closing Prayer

God of freedom, we are thankful that you have sent your Son Jesus to bring us freedom and salvation.  Make us good stewards of that freedom, not using it for our own self-indulgence, but embracing the opportunity to serve and support others, even while we enjoy the freedom to look at ourselves with true and honest eyes and experience the forgiveness of sin that comes from repentance.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Questions

Do we learn anything about another person if all they do is tell us how they compare to someone else?  Why are we so tempted to rank ourselves?  Why can’t we simply, honestly say where we fit in?

Suffering by Comparison

Regardless of the candidate you prefer for President of the United States, this has been a campaign season like nothing we have ever seen.  Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination without ever having been previously elected.  He emerged from a field of seventeen, many of whom had lots of previous political experience.  Hilary Clinton finally pulled away from Bernie Sanders.  Senator Sanders ran as a Democrat even though he was an Independent in previous election cycles.

This campaign has been notable for other reasons as well.  Many voters are frustrated that the Clinton and Trump spend more time comparing themselves to the other than telling us about themselves.  Polling experts are probably advising them to do so.  Saying how much “better” you are than the other candidate seems to result in more votes.

It seems to work, even though most of us say we don’t like it.  Is there something deep within us which moves us to compare one person to another?  Do we just naturally look around in order to know whether we measure up?  Do we need to denigrate others in order to affirm our own value and feel desirable?

Let us hope this isn’t the case.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think the Presidential candidates spend so much time comparing themselves to the other?
• Would we prefer to know who or what someone “isn’t,” more than we would like to know who they are?
• To whom are you inclined to compare yourself?

Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Luke 18:9-14

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Who are you, a Pharisee or a tax collector?

In reading this parable, it is way too tempting to think of ourselves as the humble man who returns to his home “justified.”  And yet, if we are reading this blog or discussing the readings for Sunday we probably have more in common with the Pharisee.

Remember that the Pharisees were a group of folks who took seriously their walk with God.  They attended youth group, they went to summer camp, they took turns as acolyte and communion assistant.  They also responded well to the fall stewardship campaign.  When the Pharisee in this story speaks of his honorable actions he is not exaggerating.  Nor is he totally wrong in noting the transgressions of the tax collector.

Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were not merely employees of some Internal Revenue Service.  They oversaw no set tax rates or income brackets.  They schemed ways to collect the most that they could, taking their income from collecting more than the authorities expected.  The tax collector may have cause to think he had transgressed the 7^th commandment.  Luther’s Catechism reminds us that we break this commandment when we acquire our neighbor’s money or property using crooked deals.  We sin, according to this commandment, unless we help our neighbors improve and protect their property and income.

Neither the Pharisee nor the tax collector should be our role models.  Each is way too focused on himself.  When we enter the Temple, synagogue, or church our eyes are to be on God.  Instead of worrying about how we stand in comparison to those around us, we look to the one who justifies.  It is not our actions, nor our avoidance of particular behaviors, which makes us right in God’s eyes.  Rather, our salvation is found in the promise of Jesus.

Discussion Questions

• Can you find reasons to admire the Pharisee in today’s reading? Discuss how our congregation might look were all the members to be like this man (regular in prayer, in giving, in studying scripture).
• Acknowledging our sins is essential to forgiveness being offered. Why do we find it easy to admit, even in the silence of our own hearts, the things we have done and failed to do?
• Is there a hierarchy of wrongful deeds; are there some sins which are worse than others?  Is the difference in how they affect others?

Activity Suggestions

• Using pencil and paper, make a list of the transgressions you committed in the past week. This is your list; no one will see it.  Now ask yourself: “Does knowing no one will see it allow you add other items to the list?”  A prayer guide asks God to help me with the sins I have labored so mightily to hide from others that I have hidden them from myself.
• Even before you think “Why,” write the name of someone in your community of faith whom you admire. Now, note the why.  What is it that they do, what is it they say, or how they live their life which has led you to think highly of them?
• The denomination sponsoring this blog (the ELCA) has a set liturgy for Individual Confession and Forgiveness [Evangelical Lutheran Worship, pages 243-44]. This is a powerful experience.  Discuss with your pastor the possibility of participating in such a service.
• Engage yourself in a political discussion. Ask those around you what they know about the Presidential candidates, and observe whether they use statements which seem to compare the candidates rather than say what they think of either as individuals.

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, train our eyes to look to you rather than on the faults of our brothers and sisters.  Help us not to focus on what we have done but on what you have done on our behalf.  Amen.

Ellen Rothweiler, Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

What does persistence mean to you? Have you ever had to work very hard to do well at something? Have you ever given up when something was difficult? What made the difference between keeping at it and giving it up?

Faith and Persistence:  Winning Combination

Athletes work hard for many years to excel in their chosen sport. With practice and conditioning, working as a team and working on individual skills, they focus a lot of time and energy on this part of their life. Some have the benefit of natural talent and others must work very hard to compete with their peers. Persistence is often what leads to success for these athletes. Working hard day after day, never giving up, and believing that they can achieve their goals if they put in the time.

So what if the worst should happen? Injury? Illness? Not getting into that college? Was all that hard work for nothing? Where does that energy to strive for greatness go? In Ryan Brant’s case that spirit of persistence is what kept him going when the worst happened. Ryan was a top-ranked lacrosse goalie in college, but then suffered several serious injuries that eventually ended his lacrosse career. He was lost in pain and depression. “When I realized I couldn’t play anymore, it was a difficult time because I was dealing with a loss of self-identity,” Brant said.

Luckily Brant had the financial and emotional support of his family during this difficult time. However, he realized that many athletes in similar circumstances aren’t so lucky.  Universities are not required to pay for athlete’s medical bills. Brant took his spirit of persistence and poured it into a nonprofit foundation called Positive Strides. This foundation works with care providers to provide the support and care that athletes need for what comes next in life after injury. It’s a calling Brant likely wouldn’t have heard of if not for his injuries and his already having the skills to make something like this happen. “I didn’t give up because it’s not in my nature,” Brant said. “You have to dig deep down inside and find the sense of pride [and] identify who you want to be after athletics is taken from you.”

Discussion Questions

• Can you imagine what Brant and other athletes are feeling when they are no longer able to play? Have you ever experienced that feeling? Explain.
• What do you think of the way Brant turned his experience into a positive?
• Are there negative experiences in your life that could be made into a positive for others by sharing your story?

Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost

Genesis 32:22-31

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Luke 18:1-8

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

The widow in our gospel story today was persistent. While we are not told what justice she was seeking, she was relentless to the point that she wore the judge down and he granted her request out of annoyance! In verse 5 he says, “Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” The unjust judge was not doing this out of a sense of duty or honor, but because she was persistent. This parable ends with a question of faith. “…And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Did the widow persist in her pleas for justice because she had faith that one day her case would be heard? Did Ryan Brant believe he could help others because he had faith that his cause was just? Or did they have the character trait of diligence. Did both just keep going until justice was granted? Or is it a combination of both faith and persistence? Do people give up because of a lack of faith?

To increase your skill in any area it takes practice. Athletes practice and people of faith have spiritual practices such as prayer. For faith to increase we must be persistent in our spiritual practice, just as the widow in the parable was persistent in pleading her case. We must build our spiritual muscle and focus our hearts and minds on trusting that God is with us and is calling us to pursue justice in our own lives and the lives of others.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever gotten something you wanted by being persistent in asking for it?
• Have you heard the saying “practice makes perfect”? Do you think that is true? Does it apply to a life of faith?
• Have you ever thought about faith as something you had to practice? Why or why not?

Activity Suggestions

List some spiritual practices. Have students choose one that appeals to them and brainstorm ways that they can include that practice in their daily lives. Check back in with students in the weeks to come to see how they are doing with these practices.  (If your group needs help in coming up with spiritual practices, some are discussed in Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster.)

Closing Prayer

O Lord, we thank you for the gift of faith that gives us hope to keep going even when things are difficult. Give us the strength to be persistent in the things you have called us to. In your name we pray, Amen.

Anne Williams, Ankeny, IA

Warm-up Question

What sorts of things make you feel better when you’re physically hurting? What about when you’re emotionally or spiritually hurting?

Crossing Borders

Rami Adham, a Syrian-Finnish (yes, he lives in Finland) father of 6 is known as Uncle Toy among Syrian refugee children. Adham collects toys and money in Finland then gets himself smuggled into Syria through Turkey to deliver toys and goods to people living in refugee camps. He has made the journey 28 times in five years. It can be dangerous, as he has to be smuggled across the border both ways each time he travels. It’s not unusual for him to walk six or seven hours at a time, sometimes dodging bullets. He says that Syrians have lost faith in others in the world because of the terrible violence in their country. Adham says no one will ever stop him. He’s completely dedicated to the kids of Syria.

Discussion Questions

• Would you ever consider doing something dangerous to bring some good to someone else?
• Do you think what Rami Adham is doing is healing? To himself? To the refugee children?
• How are Adham’s actions healing?

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Luke 17:11-19

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

First of all, let’s frame Jesus’ story by exploring where he is. Jesus is outside of Jewish lands, he’s in a no-man’s-land between the borders of Judea and Samaria. It’s interesting that the village he enters is in that no-man’s-land. Even more interesting is that there are lepers living near this village. Lepers weren’t allowed to live in the towns, having to live in the hills or valleys around the towns they came from. In a lot of ways, lepers in the ancient world were refugees – unable to live in their own homes, often violently driven out of the towns they used to live in. The only way they were allowed to go back to their old lives was to prove to the local priest that they were healed – free of any skin diseases or conditions that might be considered contagious.

So this is where Jesus is, in a town where there are 10 lepers who just want to get back to their lives, with their families, in their homes. Our Bible text doesn’t say how Jesus healed these ten men, but we know he did. Only one of them turned back to Jesus and thanked him.  Notice, the only man who comes back to thank Jesus is a Samaritan.  Samaritans were often seen as enemies of the Judeans and regarded with suspicion. Jesus tells him that his faith has made him well.

It’s not really a surprise that we find Jesus valuing people who are both the refugees of the ancient world and the historical enemy of his people. Luke consistently tells us that Jesus is always there for the poor and the hurting, that his care extends to them no matter who they are or where they are from. Even if they exist on the very edges of society Jesus is willing to be there for them. And it shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus is willing to leave his comfort zone, even the boundaries of his own country, to meet those who need his help.

Discussion Questions

• If you were one of Jesus’ disciples, how, would you feel about leaving friendly territory and moving into potentially hostile territory to follow him?
• Who exists outside friendly territory in your world? Hint: this is necessarily a literal question – some spaces are hostile to a person without being violent.
• Are there ways for you to meet the people who live outside the borders of your comfort zone?
• Could healing happen if you were to meet those people? What kind of healing would it be?

Activity Suggestions

Grab a bunch of maps, ideally one of your town, one of your state, one of the country and one of the world. The bigger the better. (If you have the space and the resources, have the students draw the maps on strips of butcher paper or poster paper taped together, accuracy isn’t the goal). Spread out all the maps and give your students markers. Instruct them to draw the borders in their lives, the lines that divide us and them. It might a school district border, a line between rich and poor neighborhoods, etc. Reflect together about the borders that exist at all scales of our lives, local, national, global. Reflect further about what it would take to cross those boundaries and get to know the people who live on the other side. What kind of healing would that look like?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, we know that your presence covers the whole earth and that you are present wherever two or more are gathered in your name. Help us to uncover all of the places where you are, especially if they lie outside our comfortable and safe boundaries. Help us to find ways to cross those boundaries in ways that will bring healing and wholeness to those on both sides of the line. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.