Monday, August 26, 2013

A Prayer for and Assurance of Grace for Labour Day Weekend

Jesus said: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
And God we have to admit that life just doesn't seem this simple, and so we worry.
Isaiah asks: Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
And we have to admit that we often have no answer, even while we recognize the truth of the question.
Paul said: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
And we are forced to name that this attitude has changed our culture, to the pain and punishment of many who live on our fringes.
God of life, of love, of labour, on this Labour Day weekend...
Help us to see how our attitudes toward labour lead us to worry, lead us to focus on the wrong things in life, may even lead us away from the path of love and compassion.
God of grace, in whose grace we live, move and have our being,
through your ever-present grace lead us in the paths of wisdom and fulfilment and hope. Amen.