Lord, you made every human being in Your image.
Each person, no matter their color, economic status, or anything else,
Is precious in Your eyes.
Each person contains within them a spark of the divine.
Yet, we fail to see this. We fail miserably.
Many of those in power do not share their power,
Sometimes the rich do not share their wealth.
Or, even “good people” are unaware of the suffering of others.
The poor and the weak often despise themselves,
Not realizing their great value and worth.
Our nation is deeply wounded.
The wound is hundreds of years old.
Anger and frustration boil beneath the surface.
And yet, and yet,
When You change hearts, something new can happen.
Give us new eyes, new hearts.
If we have material wealth, let us share it with others.
If we have gifts of encouragement, of education,
Let us use them to lift others up.
If we are poor, weak, or feel powerless,
Let us not succumb to fear, discouragement, or despair.
Let us see others with Your eyes,
Not the eyes of corrupted man,
Who looks only at ways to bolster his weak ego.
Not the eyes that look only at the surface,
At outward appearance, possessions, or achievements,
But eyes that see Your beauty and goodness in each person.
Give us the courage to reach out to those who seem different from us,
And to accept their friendly overtures.
Heal our fears, worries, anxieties.
Challenge our prejudices, faulty beliefs, and hatreds.
Let those who stir up hatred of people be thwarted.
Let those who have been injured find the grace to eventually forgive,
For an unforgiving heart injures only itself.
Let justice be done for them.
We thank you for Your mercy to fallen mankind.
For without Your mercy, there is no hope.
Amen.
clarakatalin 
Do Not Be Discouraged
A reflection on two Bible passages.
“He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.” (Isaiah 42:3, New Living Translation).
I take this to mean that God has compassion on those who are weak, struggling with sin, or oppressed.
“This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter’s house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter’s house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.”
(Jeremiah 18:1-6, NAB revised edition)
Today I heard a new interpretation of “Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.” What I heard today was: God never gives up on us. He starts over, remaking what did not work out, or where we failed in some way. He fashions something new. I had previously looked at it as God giving up. But He does not throw the clay out, he refashions it.
Both of these passages give me so much hope and thanksgiving for God’s mercy. Do not be discouraged by your failings. Only ask God to make something new of you. Let Him act in you.
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