With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling,
and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness
and your every deed prompted by faith.
~ 2 Thessalonians 1:11
Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, giving thanks for them and praising them, but of the epistle reading for our Reformation Sunday this week, verse 11 speaks to me the most.
As we look back at the last 499 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg church, I give thanks for the church, for the history we share, for the changes we have made – for all of the reforms that have occurred this last almost-half-century.
And I’m still praying. I’m still praying for the church, for each member, that God may make us worthy of God’s calling.
Because I don’t know if we’re there yet.
I know I’m not.
I pray that by God’s power, we are drawn to our neighbors, to speak mercy in the face of injustice, to bring love in the midst of hate, and to promote peace in the midst of violence.
It’s not an easy calling that God has for God’s church, but I hope that as we celebrate this anniversary, as we remember Paul’s words to the church in Thessalonica, that we can pray – we can pray that God will make us worthy to be God’s church, to be the Body of Christ together, without division, without hate, but only with the love and grace we have been so freely given by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This is my prayer for this Reformation Sunday, for these coming weeks and months and years, for our lives.
Amen
What are your prayers this week? Are there reforms that need to be made in your life? Where do you feel God calling you today?
